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Ohio

B.P.D.

You’re makin’ a mess
Somethin’ I can’t fix
This time you’re on your own

I’d make it alright
But I wouldn’t get it right
I’m leavin’ it alone

For cryin’ outloud
Cryin’ outloud
Cryin’ out
You’re cryin’ out

Yeah

You’re makin’ a mess
Is that what you do best?
Is madness just a hand-me-down?

It’s anyone’s guess
But I must confess
The performance isn’t that profound

Yeah

I’m waiting for the end
Waiting to begin again

You’re makin’ a mess
Somethin’ you can’t hide
A slow suicide
Just one bite at a time

I should love you less
But I can’t I guess
Only God can save us now

Cryin’ out

Yeah

What I’ll Remember Most

The saddest songs are the happiest
The hardest truths are the easiest
Put us both to the test
And tell me if you still need me
And I will swallow these words
And see if I can still believe

The biggest lies are the little ones
When the look in your eyes is the distant one
Angel or demon
You know that they can share one bed
I’ve laid awake so long
I’ve got them both inside my head

This is what I’ll remember most about dying
So many moments like ghosts
Slipping through my hands in vain
You were 80% angel
10% demon
The rest was hard to explain

This American dream may be poisonous
Violence is contagious
Crowded or empty
I walk these city streets alone
Whoever brought me here
Is gonna have to take me home

This is what I’ll remember most about dying
Loading these moments like a gun
Hoping to kill the pain
You were 80% angel
10% demon
The rest was hard to explain

Show Me

I’ve lost the words
It ain’t my way
Takes some a breath
What takes me twenty-five years to say
Baby you’re my favorite rolling stone
Elvis left the building
I have never been so alone

Come on and show me how it feels
Come on and show me how it feels
Can we make it last can we make it real
Come on and show me how it feels

It’s only me in this flimsy dress
I could spread this love from the east to the west
The bed is made the world’s a mess
Maybe we’ve got it backwards
Maybe we should just care less

I close my eyes I see your face
Every inch of your skin I begin to retrace
Let me be the voice inside your head
Listen to me whisper
We can sleep when we’re dead

Jesus In New Orleans

The last time I saw Jesus
I was drinking bloody Mary’s in the South
In a barroom in New Orleans
Rinsin’ out the bad taste in my mouth

She wore a dark and faded blazer
With a little of the lining hanging out
When the jukebox played Miss Dorothy Moore
I knew that it was him without a doubt

I said the road is my redeemer
I never know just what on earth I’ll find
In the faces of a stranger
In the dark and weary corners of a mind

She said, The last highway is only
As far away as you are from yourself
And no matter just how bad it gets
It does no good to blame somebody else

Ain’t it crazy
What’s revealed when you’re not looking all that close
Ain’t it crazy
How we put to death the ones we need the most

I know I’m not a martyr
I’ve never died for anyone but me
The last frontier is only
The stranger in the mirror that I see

But when I least expect it
Here and there I see my savior’s face
He’s still my favorite loser
Falling for the entire human race

Ohio

Hello Ohio
The back roads
I know Ohio
Like the back of my hand
Alone Ohio
Where the river bends
And it’s strange to see your story end

In my life I’ve seen a thousand dreams
Through the threshers all torn to pieces
And the land lay bare
Someone turned a profit there
And a good son lost his life in a strip pit

When the sun went down we would all leave town
And light our fires in Egypt Bottom
And the reservoir was just as good for Joni
‘Cause we knew we would
Dream out loud in the night air

Holly said, Don’t go inside the children’s home
Mary said, Don’t leave your man alone
Valerie was singin’ to the radio
Ohio

It was summertime in ‘83
We were burnin’ out at the rubber tree
Wonderin’ what in the world
Would make all this worthwhile
And if I knew then I was older then
Would I see regret to the last mile

Hello Ohio
The back roads
I know Ohio
Like the back of my hand
Alone Ohio
Where the river bends
And it’s strange to see your story end
How I hate to see your story end
It’s so sad to see your story end

Suitcase

Whatcha doin’ with a suitcase
Tryin’ to hit the ground with both feet runnin’
Aren’t you trippin’ on your shoelace

You’re stealin’ away on a sunny day
Well aren’t you ashamed at all
Funny but I feel like I’m fallin’
I wanna beg you to stay
You’re stealin’ away on a sunny day

Why’d you love me in the first place
You were always closer than a brother
I can barely look at your face

I’ve said my I’ve said my
I’ve said my piece
I’m on my
I’m on my
Down on my knees

Whatcha doin’ with a suitcase
Whatcha doin’ with a suitcase

Anything At All

I follow you from town to town
I need it
I’m better off when you’re around
I mean it

Sooner or later
Things will all come around again
Sooner or later
I won’t need anything
Anything at all

I walk these streets alone at night
When it hurts me
A perfect life’s an oversight
You curse me

Should’ve known better
Than this esoteric love
Down to the letter
It don’t mean anything
Anything at all

You and I

I wrestle with these guilty thoughts
And I’m losing
You’re all I am I’m what you’re not
Confusing

Sooner or later
Things will all come around for good
Sooner or later
I won’t need anything
Anything at all

Professional Daydreamer

Part of me
You are a part of me
I never want to lose
Hard for me
This is too hard
Maybe I can’t get through
What will I miss the most
Pray that I’m haunted by your ghost

Listening
You’re always listening
I don’t know what to say
Why don’t you turn and run at break-neck speed
Just to get away
And when you catch your breath
Pray I said every word I meant

Alright it’s alright now
Alright it’s alright

Broken down
We’re all so broken down
Bandages on our wings
I know I don’t have to tell you
Only broken hearts can sing
I’m hoping for a sign
Pray that I’m anything but fine

Some things are never gonna change
You ought to know by now

Lifelong Fling

The moon blind-sided the sky again
As we grabbed loose ends of the tide and then
The slippery slide
You know I can’t say when
I ever took a ride that could slap me this silly
With roiling joy
Lazy as sin
Lyin’ up in heaven with my special friend
And the space he’s in
It can make a girl grin
In the beginning of a lifelong fling

I wrote down a dream
Folded the note
Slipped it in the pocket of my tattered coat

I wrote down a dream
In invisible ink
It never was mine I’m beginning to think

I wrote down a dream
What more could I do
I drew myself a picture and the picture was you

I wrote myself a riddle
I said, what I wouldn’t do
To give something good
To a love like you

I wrote down a dream
Folded the note
Passed it to you we stepped in our boat

Sailed ‘round the world
We were hoping to find
More than the sum of all we left behind

I wrote down a dream
But what was it now
And why does it feel so distant somehow

Did I take too long
Did I get it wrong
You’re still the missing line in my favorite song

Changes Come

Changes come
Turn my world around

I have my father’s hand
I have my mother’s tongue
I look for redemption in everyone

I wanna wear your ring
I have a song to sing
It ain’t over babe
In fact it’s just begun

Changes come
Turn my world around
Changes come
Bring the whole thing down

I wanna have our baby
Somedays I think that maybe
This ol’ world’s too fucked up
For any firstborn son

There is all this untouched beauty
The light the dark both running through me
Is there still redemption for anyone

Jesus come
Turn the world around
Lay my burden down
Turn this world around
Bring the whole thing down
Bring it down

Long Lost Brother

I thought that we’d be
Further along by now
I can’t remember how
We stumbled to this place

I loved you like a long lost brother
On a bad day maybe I thought why bother
I’ve seldom seen so much anger
In a face

I wanna do better
I wanna try harder
I wanna believe
Down to the letter

Jesus and Mary
Can you carry us
Across this ocean
Into the arms of forgiveness

I don’t mean to laugh out loud
I’m trying to come clean
Trying to shed my doubt
Maybe I should just keep
My big mouth shut

More often than not
When it comes to you
You want whatever’s not in front of you
Deep down I know this includes me too

So tell me your troubles
Let your pain rain down
I know my job I’ve been around
I invest in the mess
I’m a low cost dumping ground

Trouble is I’m so exhausted
The plot, you see, I think I’ve lost it
I need the grace to find what can’t be found

She

What she would like to do
Is get you out of her head
She’s tried every trick
She’s so sick of thinking about it

What’s so special about you
You’re an ache she’s learned to crave
You’re a blade too dull to raise

But she cuts herself
On you every night
She’s just dying
To lay down the knife

What she would love to do
Is get you out of her bed
She’s played it over and over and over
In her head

But she cuts herself
On you every night
She’s just dying
To lay down the knife

She clings to what’s familiar
She thinks a change would kill her

What she ought to do
Is put a gun to your head
For all the things you said and did

But what she will not do
Is let you go before you’re gone
It’s everything that’s ever been wrong
But it’s all she’s ever known

So she cuts herself on you every night
She’s just dyin’ to lay down her life

Nobody Number One

I’m afraid I’ve lost the piece of me
I need the most you see
This puzzle is really just about the need
To be somebody
I’m afraid I’m not all that you see
All along the coast of me
I’m camouflaged, a desert mirage
A nobody

But you came so close and I assumed
You were looking
For the piece of yourself that’s lost
It is the hiding place inside everybody
And though we love to numb the pain
We come to learn that it’s in vain
Pain is our mother
She makes us recognize each other

C’mon now child don’t cry
C’mon now child don’t cry
Let’s give it one more try
C’mon now child don’t cry

Sometimes I feel so all alone
Here in this city I call my home
They say, Hey, you’re one of us
Funny, I should feel so anonymous
But I’m drawn to you
And that still small voice is talking too
And that’s the voice that so seldom can get through

You can’t put no Band-Aid on this cancer
Like a twenty-dollar bill
For a topless dancer
You need questions
Forget about the answers
Do you really wanna die this way

That’s the trouble with you and me
We always hit the bottom ‘fore we get set free
I’m so far down
I’m beginning to breathe

C’mon now child don’t cry
C’mon now child don’t cry
Let’s give it one more try
C’mon now child don’t cry
‘Cause we’re just too young to die

Cruel and Pretty

He woke
He knew that he was dying
He spoke
And found that he was flying
Upstairs
High above the city
Through the ceiling of the stars
So cruel and pretty

Arms spread across the dark river
The night air causing him to shiver
Like the fluorescent lights in the Seven Eleven
Meet me in the backstreets of heaven

I don’t wanna kiss you goodbye
I don’t wanna kiss you goodbye
Hello, hello, hello, how the time flies
I don’t wanna kiss you goodbye

He woke
He knew that he was dying
He spoke
And found that he was flying
Upstairs
High above the city
Through the ceiling of the stars
So cruel and pretty

Electric lines and wispy jet contrails
Ships at sea and B&O train rails
A tunnel of light like the Seven Eleven
Meet me in the backstreets of heaven

Remind Us

I don’t know where this is going
I’m taking a ride on a wing and a prayer
Follow me there
We’ll both be surprised
If we forget anything
Hopefully nobody will remind us

Can’t bear the news in the evening
We’re going to bed and we’re going to war
All of this for
Anyone’s guess
If we forget anything
Heaven forbid someone would remind us

Sinners and saints, priests and kings
Are we just using God for our own gain
What’s in a name
Open your eyes
If we forget everything
There will be no one left to remind us

I don’t know where this is going
I’m taking a ride on a wing and a prayer
Follow me there
We’ll both be surprised

How Long Have You Been Stoned

What’s it like to be the only somebody in the room
Tell us all what does it cost you to be you
Takin’ out Daddy’s trash now ain’t it a drag
Trippin’ on Papa’s brand new body bag

How long have you been stoned

Places
Everybody places
Embrace it
It’s the way it has to be
Wasted
Is everybody wasted
Complacent
Is anybody free

How long have you been stoned

When You Say Love

I’m thinking of a word that has been
Knocked up and overused
You could say it’s lost all meaning
From so much abuse

But when you say love, OH

Most everything I ever wanted
Doesn’t really have a name
But baby you’re as close as I’ve come and
I know that it sounds strange

But when you say love, OH

So open up my heart-shaped box
It’s full of combination locks
I’ve swallowed all my love-sick pills
To keep from getting chills
Look at all the books I’ve read
In my lonely single bed

But when you say love, OH

Fool

Fool
Fool me
I’m just a sentimental fool
It happened again
When
I remembered you
And all that we’ve been through
Love
Truly
I know this world it can be so cruel
I won’t let you go

Fool
Use me
This is the part that I can’t refuse
Just do what you do
My heart’s becoming true
It aches to make room for you
Fool pursue me
To heaven above or to hell below
Just don’t let go

Fool me
I’m just a sentimental fool
I can’t let you go

Hometown Boy

Hey love
What do you say
We get outta here today
You ain’t found your footing yet
But someday you’re going to fly
My hometown boy

Cars up on blocks
The neighbourhood’s gone to hell
You wonder if the whole world’s breakin’ down
But you feel somethin’
You feel the need to run
But you don’t know why
My hometown boy

No love
No sloe gin back porch nights for you
We’ve got work to do
White trash blowin’ down the street
Just pipe dreams on paper
But starting tomorrow
We’ve gotta try
Me and my hometown boy

Bothered

Don’t be bothered by the fears
I’ll try to bottle them
Like my mother’s perfume
She wore it only on Sunday
Kept it safe in her room
In a chest with a key
We found it anyway

Don’t be bothered by the fears
They’ll only join us like the sky
That blushes red tonight
And makes the wind die down
Calms the troubled sea
More out of duty than pleasure
But out of pleasure nonetheless

Your fire burns me like a favorite song
A song I should have know all along
I feel you move like smoke in my eyes
And that is why

Don’t be bothered by the fears
That sing from my eyes like carillon
Ringing only on Sunday
On the roof down our street
Finally over the river
Ring for you ring for me
Finally forever
It’s just I never
It’s just I never thought
I never thought that I could be this free

Idea #21 (Not Too Late)

Till we lay these weapons at your feet, Lord
How long, how long
Till we call all hatred obsolete, Lord
How long, how long
Till we walk like lovers thru Bethlehem
How long, how long
Till the lion lies down with the lamb, Lord
How long, how long

Too late
I know it’s not too late
To wrestle with this angel
Higher and higher
Don’t let go
Higher and higher
Before we know
How does it end
How does it end
We’re all riding on the last train
Trying to find our way home again

Till we wash the blood from the hands of our fathers
How long
We’re all sisters and brothers, sons and daughters
How long, how long
Our eyes all shine in different colors we cry, Lord
How long
Our dreams our tears are all the same by and by, Lord
How long, how long

Too late
I know it’s not too late
To climb up Jacob’s ladder
Higher and higher
Don’t let go
Higher and higher
Before we know
How does it end
How does it end
We’re all riding on the last train
Trying to find our way home again

It’s not too late

Drunkard's Prayer

I want you to be my love

I want you to be my love
I want you to be my love
'Neath the moon and the stars above
I want you to be my love

I want you to know me now
I want you to know me now
Break a promise make a vow
I know you want me now

Like I want you

I want you to be my love
I want you to be my love
'Neath the moon and the stars above
I want you to be my love

'Cause I want you
I know all you
All you've been through

Born

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Pour me a glass of wine
Talk deep into the night
Who knows what we'll find

Intuition, deja vu
The holy ghost haunting you
Whatever you got
I don't mind

Put your elbows on the table
I'll listen long as I am able
There's nowhere I’d rather be

Secret fears, the supernatural
Thank god for this new laughter
Thank god the joke's on me

We've seen the landfill rainbow
We've seen the junkyard of love
Baby it's no place for you and me

I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Drunkard's prayer

You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

You're the hunger
On my bones
All the nights
I sleep alone

Sweet intoxication
When your words
Wash over me

Whether or not
Your lips move
You speak to me

Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave

And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

Bluer

I cry just a little bit
Just a little bit
Everyday

Get by just a little bit
Just a little bit
That way

I know, I know
I should have known

Bluer
Than the blue devils
Bluer than this pale blue angel

Bluer than all of my troubles
Love is never far from danger

I die just a little bit
Just a little bit
Everyday

Get by just a little bit
Just a little bit
That way

Let go, let go
Now that you've gone

Bluer
Than the blue devils
Bluer than this pale blue angel
Bluer than all of my troubles
Are we gonna leave here strangers

Spark

It's not the spark that caused the fire
It was the air you breathed that fanned the flame
What you think you'll solve with violence
Will only spread like a disease
Until it all comes 'round again
Was john the only dreamer?

Sleep with one ear close to the ground
And wake up screaming
When we lay our cold weapons down
We'll wake up dreaming

Obsessions with self-preservation
Faded when I threw my fear away
It's not a thing you can imagine

You either lose your fear
Or spend your life with one foot in the grave
Is god the last romantic?

Sleep with one ear close to the ground
And wake up screaming
When we lay our cold weapons down
We'll wake up dreaming

Only love can turn this around
I wake up dreaming
Everything we've lost can be found
We'll wake up dreaming

Hush now (stellas's tarantella)

Hush now my sweet little noisy boy
There is trouble enough in the world
Pick up your feet little lazy boy
Come dance with your little girl

Spin me 'round this kitchen floor
Like a carnaval
Troubadour
I know we're only two-bit clowns
In a one-ring circus

But make me a little bit dizzy boy
Swing me on your trapeze
When I’m in the arms of my dreamy boy
It still makes me weak in the knees

Right here on this record player
Is our scratchy song
We're alone
Slide trombones like an orchestra
Full of fortune tellers

Come now my sweet little breathing boy
I'm listening hard to your heart
It's as strong as a lion's boy
Let's leave here and make a new start

I remember once you said
Lying in this bed
The past is dead
Everyday is a one-act play
Without an ending

Lookin' forward

Walking out in the freezing rain
I feel nothing 'cause I numbed the pain
I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back
On this day

Prayed last night
Dear god please no
But I was never good at letting go
I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back
On this day

Good news can be so unkind
When it's everything you have to
Leave behind
I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back
On this day

In the taillights
So much hindsight
Telling me what I already know
I know

Little did I know

Little did I know
That I almost let you go
Until I caught a glimpse of life
Without you

Little did I know
How deep these roots had grown
Until I felt the earth quake here
Without you

And this ache is gonna break me love
Until you come back home
Right or wrong
There is no home without you

And these eyes are never gonna dry
I never knew how I could cry
Until I thought I’d really lost you

Little did I know that I almost let you go
Until I caught a glimpse of life
Without you

Who will guard the door

You were the hand that I tried to take
You're the decision that I could not make
You're the religion that I should forsake

You were the story I tried to tell
You were the savior that tripped and fell
Beautiful dancing infidel

Who will guard the door
When I am sleeping
Who will guard the door
When I am sleeping
I'm not sleeping

You were the season that would
Not change
I often was the same
Then four horseman came and stole
My name

I never saw you fall apart
I never saw you work so hard
Never saw you need no one
I am my father's son

Firefly

My memory will not fail me now

Hmm firefly in the night sky
Only lights on the rise
And I need you so firefly

One satellite with a lazy eye
Caught me by surprise
With an ache in my belly
And a taste in my mouth for fire

My memory will not fail me now

Hmm firefly in the night sky
Only lights on the rise
After the killing frost
Where do you go
Firefly

My memory will not fail me now
And the rest is history

My funny valentine

( Rodgers / Hart )

You're my funny valentine
Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile with my heart
Your looks are laughable
Unphotographable
Still you're my favourite work of art

Is your figure less than greek
Is your mouth a little weak
When you open it to speak
Are you smart

But don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay funny valentine stay
Each day is valentine's day

Is your figure less than greek
Is your mouth a little weak
When you open it to speak
Are you smart

But don't you change one hair for me
Not if you care for me
Stay funny valentine stay
Each day is valentine
Each day is valentine's day

The Trumpet Child

I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time

I don’t wanna waste your time
With music you don’t need
Why should I autograph the book
That you won’t even read
I’ve got a different scar for every song
And blood left still to bleed
But I don’t wanna waste your time
With music you don’t need

I don’t wanna waste good wine
If you won’t stick around
I love to laugh but I’m more than just
Your alcoholic clown
I won’t pray this prayer with you
Unless we both kneel down
I don’t wanna waste good wine
If you won’t stick around

Come on lighten up
Let me fill your cup
I’m just trying to imagine a situation
Where we might have a real conversation

But I don’t wanna waste the words
That you don’t seem to need
When it comes to wanting what’s real
There’s no such thing as greed
I hope this night puts down deep roots
I hope we plant a seed
‘Cause I don’t wanna waste your time
With music you don’t need

Trouble

If you came to make some trouble
Better make it good
Your sexy cocktail hour stubble
Is doing what it should
Looks may be sweet and subtle
I think it’s trouble honey
I think it’s good
If you came to make trouble
Make me a double honey
I think it’s good

Novices have expectations
‘Cause they think they should
Experts have their revelations
Like they knew they would
What may seem complicated
Is overstated downright misunderstood
Love will not be outdated
Maybe placated but it’s got to be good

We’re so precarious with semantics
I think this could be trouble
I think it’s trouble honey
I think it’s good
If you came to make trouble
Make me a double honey
I think it’s good

What may seem complicated
Is overstated downright misunderstood
Love will not be outdated
Maybe placated but it’s got to be good
We’re far too serious
I think we could be
Such nefarious pyromantics

I’m On A Roll

Black flamenco shoes
Dahlias in my hair
Garters on my stockings
The sidewalk bends to stare
I’m on a roll

Ambition may be blind
Diamonds come from coal
You provide the rhythm babe
I’ll provide the soul
I’m on a roll

This oyster is my world
My oyster’s got a pearl
This ain’t no dress rehearsal
I’m a very lucky girl
I’m on a roll

Tastes sweet on my lips
Tender on my tongue
All the road’s ahead of me
Oh the night is young
I’m on a roll

I’m on a roll
Just like I oughta
I’m on a roll
I can’t be bothered
I’m on a roll
I want the whole enchilada
I’m on a roll

Baby’s got his bullhorn
Confetti’s in the air
We’re shakin’ up Show Ponies
‘Cause we haven’t got a care
I’m on a roll

I’m on a roll
Just like I oughta
I’m on a roll
I can’t be bothered
I’m on a roll
Cincinnati to Ensenada
I’m on a roll
From the thrift store to Prada
I’m on a roll
La de dah…

Nothing Is Innocent

We’d wake the dead
With voices in our head
We’ve gotten used to ignoring the truth

We close our eyes
And breathe and eat the lies
That tell us we’re so much better than you

Silence is loud
Humility is so proud
Nothing is innocent now

All the king’s men
Will serve scrambled eggs again
When white-washed walls come crashing down

We’ll blink and nod
And say, How odd
And wonder why old friends don’t come around

Silence is loud
Humility is so proud
Nothing is innocent now

The acid rain
We fear the pain
Will blister and burn the skin

But what is more
The fear we bore
Will eat us alive from within

Silence is loud
Humility is so proud
Nothing is innocent now

For you and me
In the land of the free
Is anything innocent now?

The Trumpet Child

The trumpet child will blow his horn
Will blast the sky till it’s reborn
With Gabriel’s power and Satchmo’s grace
He will surprise the human race

The trumpet he will use to blow
Is being fashioned out of fire
The mouthpiece is a glowing coal
The bell a burst of wild desire

The trumpet child will riff on love
Thelonious notes from up above
He’ll improvise a kingdom come
Accompanied by a different drum

The trumpet child will banquet here
Until the lost are truly found
A thousand days, a thousand years
Nobody knows for sure how long

The rich forget about their gold
The meek and mild are strangely bold
A lion lies beside a lamb
And licks a murderer’s outstretched hand

The trumpet child will lift a glass
His bride now leaning in at last
His final aim to fill with joy
The earth that man all but destroyed

Entertaining Thoughts

I’ve been entertaining thoughts
Of what I wanna say to you
I’ve been entertaining thoughts
Of what I’m gonna do
I’ve been saving what I got
And wondering who to give it to
I’ve been entertaining thoughts all over you

The way this works is so mysterious
If it gets much worse it’s called delirious
If I were mad I would be furious
But this could be so much more than
Just another euphemism for...

I’ve been entertaining thoughts
Of what I wanna say to you
I’ve been entertaining thoughts
Of what I’m gonna do
I’ve been saving what I got
And wondering who to give it to
I’ve been entertaining thoughts all over you

You smoke your cigarette
And wonder if it’s happened yet
The heavens slowly part and you ascend
I wish that I could say that I’ll have no regrets
But I may have one of two
Or three or four more than you...

You will never even know
Till it hits you fool
Ooh, but I’m entertaining thoughts
All over you

Who’m I Kiddin’ But Me

Walk into the room with that curious grin
Ain’t nobody need to know the actual shape I’m in
But oh, who’m I kiddin’ but me

Call you on the phone, I got nothin’ to say
Put my lips a little closer and stand there anyway
‘Cause oh, who’m I kiddin’ but me

I hang from my desire
Like a rope swing from a tree
I kick a little higher
Singin’ I Shall Be Released
But oh, who’m I kiddin’ but me

The devil’s in the details

Call you on the phone, I got nothin’ to say
Put my lips a little closer and stand there anyway
‘Cause oh, who’m I kiddin’ but me

You smell like sweet magnolias
And Pentecostal residue
I’d like to get to know ya
And shake the holy fire right out of you
But oh, who’m I kiddin’ but me

The devil’s in the details

Let’s Spend The Day In Bed

Let’s spend the day in bed
Yeah that’s what I said
Let’s lie down draw the shades
Ditch the plans we made
Rest your lovely bones
And just stay home

Turn off the telephone
Picnic on the sheets
Toss the dogs some treats
Rub each other’s feet
We’re not ashamed
Of a little lazy love
Till we’re through
I’m gonna spend the day in bed with you

Let’s spend the day in bed
On our very own bed spread
A pajama holiday
Catch a black and white matinee
Spoon-feed these new daydreams
And just stay home

We’ll read Shel Silverstein
Where The Sidewalk Ends
Smile about old friends
Try to comprehend
One single day
No work and only play
Kick off your shoes
I’m gonna spend the day in bed with you

When life’s a drag we’ll get stoned on love
Stoned on love
Just stay home

We need a groove that’s all our own
And we’ll get stoned
Just stay home
We’ll get stoned on love
Stoned on love

Let’s spend the day in bed
Forget all that I said
We’ll eat your favorite pie
Ice cream on the side
Lie here a la mode
And just stay home

Desperate For Love

Are you feelin’
A little desperate
Get on your knees
And confess it
Honey please
Don’t second guess it
You’re desperate
For love

Is this just
A little fling
Or is it about
A little bling bling
Either way
You feel the sting sting
You’re desperate
For love

It might only take a kiss
For the plot to take a twist
That you hadn’t counted on

Just a tiny little minute
But eternity will be in it
If you turn me on

Red wine on my lips
Got this black silk slip on my hips
The kitchen faucet just drips and drips
You’re desperate for love

Don’t Wait For Tom

He’s got the hands of a blind piano player
He’s got a feel for the dark like a soothsayer
He takes a little bow and tips his fedora
Shouts like he’s gonna save Sodom and Gomorrah

Workin’ for the circus X railroad bum
Carnival barker for kingdom dot come
Dusty ol’ Gibson opposable thumb
Bangs out the rhythm on a 50-gallon drum

Don’t wait for Tom
Tom’s long gone
He’s already moved on
Don’t wait for Tom
I saw an ol’ ’55 Buick
Just before dawn
I said, Hey, hey Tom
The sun’s comin’ up
You got your wipers on

Are you tryna make it rain again?
Are you tryna make it rain again?
Is it rainin’ just around your bend?
Are you tryna make it rain again?

Sittin’ in a corner with his pet muskrat
Tossin’ his cards into an old man’s hat
He grins at the girls and they always grin back
He bets an old waltz he could get ‘em in the sack

He makes his own music from the bell of a ‘bone
A waitress’s falsie and a railroad phone
Bobs on his knees to an old tarantella
South of the border he stole it from a fella

Don’t wait for Tom…
His triple-jointed juke fingers splay like a scarecrow
He kneels down and whistles to a fallen sparrow
His eyes light up when they wheel in a piano
He reads a dirty joke out of an old Baptist hymnal

He wears a tuxedo made of sackcloth and ashes
Has a tattoo of a girl who can bat her eyelashes
Down on the river he was fishin’ with a sword
He knocked off John the Baptist for a word from the Lord

He takes his coffee with the blood of a turnip
Blushes his cheeks with an Amsterdam tulip
Choppin’ up a rooster for a pullet surprise
If the gravy don’t getcha he’ll getcha with his eyes

Hey Tom

If A Song Could Be President

If a song could be president
We’d hum on Election Day
The gospel choir would start to sway
And we’d all have a part to play

The first lady would free her hips
Pull a microphone to her lips
Break our hearts with Rhythm and Blues
Steve Earle would anchor the news

We’d vote for a melody
Pass it around on an MP3
All our best foreign policy
Would be built on harmony

If a song could be president
We’d fly a jukebox to the moon
All our founding fathers’ 45’s
Lightnin’ Hopkins and Patsy Cline
If a song could be president

If a song could be president
We could all add another verse
Life would teach us to rehearse
Till we found a key change

Break out of this minor key
Half-truths and hypocrisy
We wouldn’t need an underachiever-in-chief
If a song could be president

We’d make Neil Young a Senator
Even though he came from Canada
Emmylou would be Ambassador
World leaders would listen to her

They would show us where our country went wrong
Strum their guitars on the White House lawn
John Prine would run the FBI
All the criminals would laugh and cry
If a song could be president

Snow Angels

All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue

Strings of lights above the bed
Curtains drawn and a glass of red
All I ever get for Christmas is blue

Saxophone on the radio
Recorded 40 years ago
All I ever get for Christmas is blue

When you play my song
Play it slowly
Play it like I’m sad and lonely

Maybe you can solve
Solve my mystery
Wrap me in your arms and whisper
You miss me

Weatherman says it’s miserable
But the snow is so beautiful
All I ever get for Christmas is blue

It would take a miracle
To get me out to a shopping mall
All I really want for Christmas is you

Let them ring the bells
They won’t miss us
I’ll be drinkin’ down your kisses

Deep into the night
We’ll go stealing
Underneath a starry ceiling
Revealing

White lights on the Christmas tree
Thank God you are here with me
All I ever get for Christmas is blue

Darlin’ (Christmas Is Coming)

So it’s been a long year
Every new day brings one more tear
Till there’s nothing left to cry

My, my how time flies
Like little children hiding their eyes
We’ll make it disappear
Let’s start a brand new year

Darlin’ Christmas is coming
Salvation army bells are ringing
Darlin’ Christmas is coming
Do you believe in angels singing
Darlin’ the snow is falling
Falling like forgiveness from the sky

If I could have anything
What would I want this new year to bring
Well, I’d want you here with me

Tear these thorns from my heart
Help the healing to start
Let’s set this old world free
Let’s start with you and me

White Horse

Bring me a white horse for Christmas
We’ll ride him through the town
Out into the snowy woods
Where we will both lie down

Underneath white birches
Our faces toward the sky
We will make snow angels
With our white horse standing by

Hush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the sky

Bring me a white horse for Christmas
We’ll ride him through the snow
All the way to Bethlehem
2000 years ago

I wanna speak with the angel
Who said do not be afraid
I wanna kneel where the oxen knelt
Where the little child was laid

Hush now baby
One day you’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Your white horse through the sky

No bridle will he be wearing
His unshod hoofs they will fly
Keep a watch out this Christmas
For that white horse in the sky

Hush now baby
One day we’re gonna ride
Hush now baby
Our white horse through the sky

Hush now baby
Let every angel sing
Hush now baby
One day we’ll ride again

Little Town

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy dark and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by

Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

The lamplit streets of Bethlehem
We walk now through the night
There is no peace in Bethlehem
There is no peace in sight

The wounds of generations
Almost too deep to heal
Scar the timeworn miracle
And make it seem surreal

The baby in the manger
Grew to a man one day
And still we try to listen now
To what he had to say

Put up your swords forever
Forgive your enemies
Love your neighbor as yourself
Let your little children come to me

New Redemption Song

Lord we need a new redemption song
Lord we’ve tried
It just seems to come out wrong
Won’t you help us please
Help us just to sing along
A new redemption song

Lord we need
A new redemption day
All our worries
Keep getting in the way

Won’t you help us please
Help us find the words to pray
To bring redemption day

Snowed In With You

When you come home
And all the world’s asleep
I’ll close my eyes
And breathe with sweet relief
This world has had you
Long enough for now
And when I get you home
I’ll show you how

I wanna get snowed in with you
I wanna shake off these winter blues
These ain’t no blues that I can use
And when the lights are gleaming
I’ll be leaning into you
What’s a girl to do?

I wanna get snowed in with you
I’m gonna make every effort to
Be so good to you
That when the snow melts away
You’ll want to stay

Snowed in with me
Till it’s time to take down the tree
And it’s all I really need baby
To be alone awhile with you
What’s a girl to do?

Drift with me
While we’re still awake
Every new snowflake
Is like a wish we make
Dream with me
Leave your cares far behind
Is all love snowblind?
Let me awake in time to find

That I’m snowed in with you
I’m gonna make every effort to
Be so good to you
That when the snow melts away
You’ll want to stay
Snowed in with me

North Pole Man

( Words and Music: Bergquist/Detweiler - Live from nowhere vol.2 )

North Pole man
Come out of the cold
North Pole man
It’s gettin’ old
Cold hands cold feet
Darn snow darn sleet
It takes good friction
To make good heat
Alright

North Pole man
Come in from the storm
North Pole man
Got to get you warm
Hot rum steam heat
My lips taste sweet
I got warm cookin’
Spread the table take a seat
Alright

Northpole man
Can you afford to
You outta come here
Come south of the border
Come down real slow
It’s warm down below
It takes perspiration
To melt the snow

Here It Is

I cried when I wrote this
I’ll always remember
The worst kind of lonely
Is alone in December

The act of forgiveness
Is always a mystery
The melting of ice
And the future of history

Some call it obsession
I call it commitment
I make my confession
I make it in public

I hope that it’s helpful
That others can use it
That it’s more than my ego
And my need to abuse it

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

The leaves on the oak tree
Hold on through the winter
They’re brown and their brittle
They clatter together

I can’t seem to let go
I’m so scared of losing
The deeper the love goes
The deeper the bruising

The trouble with talking
Is it makes you sound clever
The trouble with waiting
Is you’ll just wait forever

There’s a loop of excuses
That plays in your mind
And makes the truth
Even harder to find

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

When they blow Gabriel’s horn
Rip fiction from fact
I want to get caught
In some radical act

Of love and redemption
The sound of warm laughter
Some true conversation
With a friend or my lover

Somewhere down the road
We’ll lift up our glass
And toast the moment
And moments past

The heartbreak and laughter
The joy and the tears
The scary beauty
Of what’s right here

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

One Olive Jingle

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way

Now you look dashing in the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go
Laughing all the way

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle through the night
Bells on bob tails ring
Making spirits bright

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle through the night
Oh through the night

Snow Angel

Once upon a winter
It seems so long ago
My one and only love and I
Fell down upon the snow

And as the dusk was falling
From our gray and goose down sky
We heard the old cathedral bells
Ring out our lullaby

Snow angel, snow angel
Someday I’m gonna fly
This cold and broken heart of mine
Will one day wave goodbye
Goodbye to this cruel wicked world
And all the tears I’ve cried
Snow angel, snow angel
I’ll meet you in the sky

The rumors of a distant war
Called my true love’s name
He packed his leather suitcase
And spoke no word of blame
We walked awhile together
I tried to hide my fear
He told me not to be afraid
And whispered in my ear

Snow angel, snow angel
Someday I’m gonna fly
This cold and broken heart of mine
Will one day wave goodbye
Goodbye to this cruel wicked world
And all the tears I’ve cried
Snow angel, snow angel
I’ll meet you in the sky

They brought my love home from the war
In a cart pulled by white mules
The Christmas bells rang out that day
Oblivious as fools

And as the snow began to fall
I kissed his frozen face
They told me in his woolen coat
His last few words were placed

Snow angel, snow angel
Someday I’m gonna fly
This cold and broken heart of mine
Will one day wave goodbye
Goodbye to this cruel wicked world
And all the tears I’ve cried
Snow angel, snow angel
I’ll meet you in the sky

We’re Gonna Pull Through

You take your own sweet time
Order us a glass of wine
And wink at all the rich folks in the room
We’re gonna pull through

We’ve been careful, we’ve been good
Doing most of the things we should
But the picture is much bigger than we knew
We’re gonna pull through

There’s no such thing as cool
And we’re gonna pull through

I’d rather feel your heat
On a wicked winter day
Than watch a holiday parade

With dancers and balloons
We’re gonna pull through

You hold me just the same way
Levon would play
And The Weight is my favorite song
We’re gonna pull through

Breaking our own rules
We’re gonna pull through

Maybe, sorta, kinda
If I really had to say
Something good is on its way
And we’re gonna pull through

The Long Surrender

The Laugh Of Recognition

Come on boys
It’s time to settle down
What do you think you’ll gain
From all this running around

Come on boys
It’s time to let it go
Everybody has a dream
That they will never own

Come on boys
It’s time to let her down
You might be surprised
How far she’ll get
With her feet on the ground
So come on boys

Every night we always
Led the pack
There and back

And we never could do anything half
You just have to laugh
Oh you gotta laugh

So come on boys
It weren’t not for trying
It’s called the laugh of recognition
When you laugh but you feel like dying

Come on boys
Now don’t be shy
If we gotta walk away
We gotta hold our heads up high

You’re not the first one to start again
Come on now friends
There is something to be said for tenacity
I’ll hold on to you
If you hold on to me
Come on boys

Sharpest Blade

There was a time
I could sleep anywhere
My feet on a chair
My heart in the woods

But love was aloof
Just a beggar for tips
A mime on whose lips
No promises stood

But you cut me quick
In the light of the shade
With the edge of the green
Of the yard’s sharpest blade
When nothing I knew
Was all that it seemed

I still dreamed
Of a love to outlive us
I still prayed
That this night would outlast us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

Blossoms begin
Like the tip of a spear
Or the curve of a tear
From a soldier who weeps
Seducing the guard
Of lost years falling by
As flowers to lie
On the dead feigning sleep

But you cut me quick
In the light of the shade,
On the edge of the green
Of the yard’s dark parade;
When nothing we knew
Was all that it seemed
I still dreamed
Of a love to outlive us
I still prayed
That this night would forgive us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

But you cut me quick
In the light of the shade,
On the edge of the green
Of the yard’s sharpest blade;
When nothing we knew
Was all that it seemed
I still dream
Of a love to outlive us
And I still pray
That this night will convince us
And redeem some small thing
Far beyond me

Rave On

Ramblin’ over caliche
With a busted muffler set it free
Rock on

Blastin’ Buddy on the radio
The Baptist wheat fields rolling low
Rock on
Rave on

Messiah come in a flat-head Ford
To the Kansas young and dumb and bored
Rock on

Adrenaline spills like blood that pours
Screamin’ out
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord
Rock on
Rave on

Redman scored between his teeth
Jackrabbits scatter underneath
Rock on

Bear down deep into the soul
The floorboard groans the rubber rolls
Rock on
Rave on

Yeah we’re hauling ass to Arkalon
The ghost town on the Cimarron
Rock on

With eyes backlit by some wicked fire
He pops the wheel of raw desire
Rock on
Rave on

Blood is sweet, the veil is thin
Let your wreckage cleanse my skin

Never give up, never say die
To the long surrender
When the red tail dives
Rock on
Rave on

Soon

Soon
The near parade will find us
Soon
The fall-by-the-way may bind us

Tongue and groove, body and fender
The weight of your world is splendor
Soon

Soon
The troubled past will leave us
Soon
The bird of fear won’t need us
The blood of our veins will guide us
A map of the train inside us
Soon

Soon

The howl of the angels will mark out time
The gift of your heart frees me from mine

Soon
The night that we call forever
Burns like a lost love letter
Soon
Soon
Soon

Undamned

Sometimes all we believe
Turns out to be just a scam
Just trying to get my world
Get it undamned

It’s been my lifelong song
Who’ll take me just as I am
Help me to get my world
Get it undamned

I’ve got a thousand lost songs
Far too many they just got away
I’ve done a thousand things wrong
Far too many for me to name
But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

Don’t count me out just yet
I’m not your little lost lamb
God might still get my world
Get it undamned

I’ve got a thousand lost songs
Far too many they just got away
I’ve done a thousand things wrong
Far too many for me to name
But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

I’ve got a thousand lost songs
Far too many they just got away
I’ve done a thousand things wrong
Far too many for me to name
But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me

But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong…

Infamous Love Song

I sing
The bebop apocalypse
Lean into you
God’s hands on my hips
Grip the midnight microphone
Steel every cell of my flesh and bone
I wrestle my angel
In smoky stage lights
Climb Jacob’s ladder
Two thousand more flights
Tell St. Valentine, Hey gimme five
Baby our love song must survive

We were born in the dirt
On our hands and knees
But started out climbing
Deciduous trees
We learned to sway
Ridiculously high
Hungry to taste
Mouthfuls of sky
Now I bring all our secrets
To show and tell
How we dragged each other
Through heaven and hell
It’s our smoking gun
But hey, we’re still alive
Baby our love song must survive

Your third-story windows
On thirteenth and Main
Still glow with an eerie
Mysterious flame
Where we learned to slow dance
By dawn’s early light
And tried to be tender
With all of our might
And just down the street
At the Milner Hotel
Rosie’s slopping the hogs
And the infidels
They all went out of business
When the market took a dive
Baby our love song must survive

There’s nights when I mostly
Just feel like a thief
With a prized possession
A gleeful belief
That love’s both a joke
And a serious matter
You don’t quite know your muse
But you know when you’ve had her
When I first saw your face yeah
It hurt you to smile
Your lips tasted like tears
I could kiss them for miles
On a midnight train
May it never arrive
Baby our love song must survive

There’s days when we lose
Our appetite
And days when we’re bruised
And losing the fight
Of a lifetime, days
When we’re looking inside
Wondering if
We’re half dead or alive
But the slow honey drip
Of those young nights long gone
The memory’s a friendly whip
Urging us on
My mouth on your lips
Is just trying to revive
Baby our love song must survive

This love’s the affirmation
Of everything good
The oxygen coursing
Through the blood
The feel of being understood
The belief that, oh yes
Somehow we could
And the milky way looks
Like a flimsy blouse
But now we’re gentrified
In our civil war house
Safe as a painting
By Currier and Ives
Baby our love song must survive

So I still sing
The bebop apocalypse
Lean into you
God’s hands on my hips
Grip the midnight microphone
Steel every cell of my flesh and bone
I still wrestle my angel
In smoky stage lights
Climb Jacob’s ladder
Two thousand more flights
C’mon St. Christopher, how ‘bout a high five
Baby our love song must survive

Only God Can Save Us Now

Margie struck Geneva with her baby doll
Barb knocked off the medcart coming down the hall
Bob leads the congregation when he sings
How Now Brown Cow
Only God can save us now

Jean says Fuzzy wuzzy fuzzy wuzzy was a bear
Miss Cleve sings Hallelujah from the choir in her chair
Behind his busy apron Raymond’s naked standing proud
Only God can save us now

Who will save me
From myself
In the night

When my time has come and it may be coming soon
Don’t mind me if you come to find me howling at the moon
I’ll need a busy apron and a half-sedated crowd
Only God can save us now

A baby doll some chocolates and flowers made of silk
A clean room with a window and some Prozac in warm milk
And sneak us in some whiskey ‘cause it’s probably not allowed
Only God can save us now

Oh Yeah By The Way

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
The thought of you it shook my head
Just today

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
What a waste that I still love you
After the mess you’ve made

What a waste that I’m not jaded
Once in awhile I even smile
What a waste you’re just a stranger
To me now

Oh yeah by the way
Oh yeah by the way
There are still so many things
I wonder if I should say, like

What a waste that I still love you
But I can’t erase one scar
All your self-inflicted wounds
Have made you what you are

So goodbye yesterday
Goodbye yesterday
I probably should have guessed that it could
End this way

What if I’m as good as you at
Walking away

The King Knows How

I feel as lonely
As anybody
Who’s crying on a Friday night

Once in a while
On my radio dial
I accidentally get it right

I’m thinking I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I’m thinking I need a little something to
Tide me over
Tide me over
Till Memphis

You know that lonesome
Whippoorwill
I know a girl who is bluer still

Is that a jukebox altar call
Or just a soft smoky place to fall

I’m thinking I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I’m thinking I need a little something to
Tide me over
Tide me over
Till Memphis

Cause the king knows how
To take me all the way
Yeah the king knows how
The King knows how
To take me all the way
To Memphis

I feel as lonely
As anybody
Who’s crying on a Friday night

I’m not laughing
Because it’s funny
Hank is laughing ‘cause he’s always right

I’m thinking I might be tempted to
Slide on over
Slide on over

I’m thinking I need a little something to
Tide me over
Tide me over

You strike the match boy
But do you know how
To burn it all the way down
To Memphis

‘Cause the king knows how
The King knows how
To take me all the way…

There's a Bluebird In My Heart

There’s a bluebird in my heart
One that’s drowning in its own wistful tune
For fear of pending tomorrow and lofty full moons
And never knowing where to start

There’s a bluebird with a song
With little effort how she sings it so well
Like a lover with a broken-throated story to tell
I’ve kept her secret for so long

Why do you always make me drink alone
When it comes to losing you I’m always on my own

There’s a bluebird in my heart
Drowning in bourbon and brushstrokes all night
When all the ordinary sinners take flight
No one will ever see your wings

Days Like This

Days like this
You look up at the sky above you
Days like this
You think about the ones that love you

All I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
It will be good for me

Days like this
You think about the ones that went before you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky it’s such a clear blue

All I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
It will be good for me

Days like this
You think about the ones that love you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky it’s such a clear blue

All My Favorite People

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just wanna hold you
And let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner
We lean on each other
Try to rise above

We’re not afraid to admit we’re all still beginners
We’re all late bloomers
When it comes to love

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers
Step forward
You can stay right here
You don’t have to go

Is each wound you’ve received
Just a burdensome gift
It gets so hard to lift
Yourself up off the ground

But the poet says
We must praise the mutilated world
We’re all working the graveyard shift
You might as well sing along

All my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

As for your tender heart
This world’s gonna rip it wide open
It ain’t gonna be pretty
But you’re not alone

‘Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me
My heart should know

Orphaned believers, skeptical dreamers
You’re welcome
Yeah, you’re safe right here
You don’t have to go

‘Cause all my favorite people are broken
Believe me
I should know

Some prayers are better left unspoken
I just wanna hold you
And let the rest go

Meet Me At The Edge Of The World

Meet Me At The Edge Of The World

One lone tupelo stood against the ironweed
The goldenrod that tamed our need
For something other than fear and greed
Meet me at the edge of the world

Expectations great and small
Unfettered us as I recall
From dreams we scaled before the fall
Into the lap of the world

Cold hard tied like rebar frames
Pale skeleton of the man remains
We’re floating checks and naming names
Paper airplanes to the edge of the world
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
But I remember that face
All the miles we misplaced
Leave behind all but one trace
And walk me to the edge of the world

That lone tupelo soon will be on fire
For all I know with God’s desire
As Autumn in Ohio spirals
Off of the edge of the world

Here we stand on cold concrete ground
‘Cause someone said they liked the sound
I’m thankful that they’ve hung around
But I’m craving the edge of the world

Is it time to disappear
Oh babe, can we just get out of here
You and me love and no one near
Walk me to the edge of the world
Meet me at the edge of the world
I’m waiting at the edge of the world

Called Home

Just shy of Breakin’ Down
There’s a bend in the road that I have found
Called home

Take a left at loneliness
There’s a place to find forgiveness
Called home

With clouds adrift across the sky
Like heaven’s laundry hung to dry
You slowly feel it all will be revealed
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Where evening shadows come to fall
On the awful and the beautiful
Every wound you feel that needs to heal

And silence yearns to hear herself
Some long lost memory rings a bell
Called home

Old pre-Civil War brick house
Standin’ tall and straight somehow
Called home

Mailbox full of weariness
And a word of hard won happiness
Called home

Leave behind your Sunday best
You know we couldn’t care a less
Out here we’ve learned to leave the edges wild

And stories they get passed around
And laughter – it gets handed down
Read it in the lines around a smile

Our bodies’ motion comes to rest
When we are at last
Called home

Sacred Ground

Love me like a memory held too long
Like the need to feel some forgotten song

Kiss me to chills like there’s only me
Like it’s hard to kill the last cottonwood tree

Love me later when the stars fall down
A burning light for a wedding gown
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
They stole the blood right out of this ground
They’d still kick a flower when it’s down

Help me trace the scars on mountains
The sun that sets in a bloody fountain
Take me home and lay me down
On the hungry earth (Love me, love me)
On the sacred ground

Love me like the breath you held too deep
Like the need you feel to lay still beneath

Leave me with teeth marks on my skin
Like some holy spirit’s tryna get in

Love me like a rumor you can’t outlive
Like the deepest cut you’ll ever forgive

They stole my blood right out of this ground
They’d still kick a flower when it’s down

Help me trace the scars on mountains
The sun that sets in a bloody fountain
Take me home and lay me down
On the hungry earth (Love me, love me)
On the sacred ground

I'd Want You

If the moon fell from the sky
Rendering everything black and blue
I’d want you
I’d want you

If the swallows fell like snow
Tumbling tiny angels with wounds
I’d want you
I’d want you
I’d want you
I’d want you

I will lay my body down
When the storm is finally through
I’d want you
I’d want you
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
If my faith should ever fail
Faltering look what I dragged it through
I’d want you
I’d want you

If the music all went still
Enabling all my fears to come true
I’d want you
I’d want you

I will lay my body down
When the storm is finally through
I’d want you
I’d want you

I’d want you
I’d want you

Gonna Let My Soul Catch My Body

Gonna let my soul catch my body
My body make up my mind
Gonna let my soul catch my body
My body make up my mind
This world makes me weary
I’m livin’ here on borrowed time

Gonna pray the Lord free my spirit
The spirit gonna give a sign
Gonna pray the Lord free my spirit
The spirit gonna give a sign
This world makes me weary
Sellin’ me what’s never been mine

Now if I’m good to be my body
My body she’ll point the way
Now if I’m good to be my body
My body she’ll point the way
Oh these days they are numbered
I might not have too long to stay
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Gonna lay out fine linen
Gonna make up my dyin’ bed
I’m gonna lay out fine linen
Gonna make up my dyin’ bed
If you call me sweet Jesus
I’m ready to lay down my head

Gonna let my soul catch my body
My body make up my mind
Gonna let my soul catch my body
My body make up my mind
This world makes me weary
I’m livin’ here on borrowed time
Oh, this road makes me weary
I’m livin’ here on borrowed time

All Of It Was Music

The night was bending in a grin
As streetlight shadows tattooed skin
Whatever we were tangled in
All of it was music

The bed sheets were our whitest flag
The war became a game of tag
We surrendered all we had
And all we had was music

The humming of the window unit
The street noise often sang right through it
A drunken song somehow we knew that
Even it was music

The newness of uncovered skin
Your messy hair your goofy grin
Your shattered places deep within
All of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, Please forgive me
I hope this song, helps you believe me
The holding on the letting go
It all gets buried soft and low
But even then a song might grow
All of it was music
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
We left the city far behind
We traveled light we traveled blind
With no idea what we’d find
Or whether we could use it

The rolling fields were lined by trees
Wild flowers brought us to our knees
The poison ivy thick as thieves—
We swung an ax to bruise it

A place where we could rest awhile
Where hummingbirds could thrum for miles
And we could leave the edges wild
And let wild birds sing through us

Fires where all our sparks could scatter
Midnight stars could drop their ladders
I’m not sure any of it matters
But all of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, Please forgive me
I hope this song, helps you believe me
The holding on the letting go
It all get buried soft and low
Don’t ask me how but I still know
All of it was music

To those I’ve wronged, Please forgive me
I hope this song, helps you believe me
This world so full of joy and pain
Was more than one heart could contain
We let it spill and flood the plain
All of it was music

Don’t Let The Bastards Get You Down

Feel the ache of Ohio
Through the veins of Illinois
Mine the seams of West Virginia
Land of buried joy

Lean into the half-light
Fade into the night
Moonrise hovers on the highway shoulder
And scatters into light
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Don’t let the bastards get you down
Don’t let the bastards get you down

Backroads shining in the moonrise
She’s a dragon with a lazy eye
Canary’s in the coal like a fallen soldier
Drunk on the song of a little white lie

Don’t let the bastards get you down
Don’t let the bastards get you down

Are they gonna steal my love
Are they gonna steal my love
Are you gonna free my love
Are you gonna free my love

Three birds sittin' on a chainlink fence
Got no cares in this world

Don’t let the bastards get you down
Don’t let the bastards get you down
Don’t let the bastards get you down
Don’t let the bastards get you down

Highland County

How did you find me
I can’t remember anymore
Along the Ohio
My wreckage washed upon your shore

As sure as the snow is gonna fall
In Highland County
I want you to know your kindness
Through this night has found me

Now that you found me
How do I offer all my thanks
A river’s still flowing
Love can still overflow its banks

As sure as the snow is gonna fall
In Highland County
I want you to know the angels that you sent Surround me

How I’m gonna miss
How I’m gonna miss
How I’m gonna miss your smile

It’s good to reminisce
Now that it’s come to this
I hope and pray it’s been worthwhile

Now as the day dies
Fading into gray
Straight as the crow flies
Silence speaks all we need to say

As sure as the snow is gonna fall in Highland County
I want you to know that mockingbird you sent it found me
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
As sure as the sun is gonna shine in Highland County
I want you to know your kindness through this night has found me

How did you find me

Wait

Wait for the sound of the water dog
To call up the ghosts through the cracks in my past
Make the hair raise on my skin
Tonight we’ll settle in
Into a promise that I’ve held fast

Life is a beauty that’s mocking you
She’s a river to drown in while singing the blues
Let the backstroke pull you in
On your lover you descend
Leaving your mark without leaving a bruise

Make the sound
That I need you to
Hit the ground
Like it’s haunting you
Come around
Like you’re dying to
Then wait…
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Wait for the sound of the water dog
To call up the ghosts through the cracks in my past
Make the hair raise on my skin
Tonight we’ll settle in
Into a promise that I’ve held fast

All Over Ohio

Well the rain it has been falling
Like it wants to drown us all
And the trees are gently swaying
Like they’re thinkin’ ‘bout the fall
I still get shivers when I hear
You singin’ down the hall
I’m gonna kiss you all over Ohio

And the starlings they were flying
Earlier today
Doing their maneuvers
Clouds of feathers on display
Makes me wanna kneel in prayer but
I’ve forgotten what to say
I’ll just name all the birds in Ohio

Now the reason I am writing
Is to tell you ‘bout the flood
Ahh, the river is so beautiful
But it leaves a load of mud
All I have now are these dirty songs
I guess they’re in my blood
They make me wander so far from Ohio

(Yeah) It’s a silly undertaking
To fly halfway ‘round the earth
With an imaginary womb of songs
Intent on giving birth
I gave all that I had to give
I’m not sure what it’s worth
Scatter the ashes right here in Ohio

All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
Bursting from a tree into the blue
Love, let it be not just a feeling
But the broken beauty
Of what we choose to do
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
And the halleujah chorus
Used to make my Daddy cry
I still wonder ‘bout the ruckus
Angels make up there on high
In the meanwhile there are measures
We can take to get us by
Lay me down next to you in Ohio

But my expectations stand still
Like beggars at the door
I’m flat broke from the dues
I’ve paid them all before
Gonna let the Cuyahoga
Wash me up on burning shores
Shipwrecked with you in Ohio

All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
Bursting from a tree into the blue
Love, let it be not just a feeling
But the broken beauty
Of what we choose to do

I have seen the slow corruption
Of the best ideas of Christ
In the pulpits of our nation
Gospel turned into white lies
If you preach a subtle hatred
The bible as your alibi
Goddam you right here in Ohio

But my shameless hallucination:
He’s still knockin’ at my door
And I know how this one’s gonna end
He’s gotten in before
I’ve run as fast as I can run
I’ve had to ask, what for
He haunts me all over Ohio

All I wanna be is a thousand black birds
Bursting from a tree into the blue
Love, let it be not just a feeling
But the broken beauty
Of what we choose to do

Well the rain it has been falling
Like it wants to drown us all
And the trees are gently swaying
Like they’re thinkin’ ‘bout the fall
I still get shivers when I hear
You singin’ down the hall
I’m gonna kiss you all over Ohio

Earthbound Love Song

When you find your little dream
Costs you everything
I hope your broken bluebird heart
Still sings

When you find the kiss that brings
The holy aftermath
Follow that blinding light down a crooked path
And wind up here
In an earthbound love song

I wanna see you smiling
On Sunday afternoon
I want your soul to sing you
An everlasting tune

Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny
Johnny and June

You might feel you gotta find your way home
Mostly all alone
Jacob’s ladder’s still hangin’
But the angels are gone
Long gone

They left the jukebox loaded
Our world exploded
Did the preacher have it all wrong
Is heaven a place you fly off to
When the day is done
Or do you work right here
On an earthbound love song
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
I wanna see you swayin’
On Sunday afternoon
I want your soul to sing you
An everlasting tune

Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny
Johnny and June

Some questions cannot be answered
Who’s gonna bury who
We need a love like Johnny
Johnny and June

We need a love like Johnny
Johnny and June

Against The Grain

Rolling boxcars
Made a big impression on you
200 rolling acres
Singin’ them shape note blues

Swinging high and rolling low
Doesn’t much matter which way we go
Outbound train moving fast and slow away
Hey…

Heaven’s angels
Are they ridin’ shotgun with you
Welcome strangers
Sitting at a table for two

People come places go
Only one sure thing that I know
If the train’s sold out
You gotta stow away
Hey…

You can ride with me
Far and wide and free…

Sketching familiar faces on the barn
Whitewashed by the dawn…
Against the grain leave the edges wild
Come now child
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Rolling boxcars
Made a big impression on you
200 rolling acres
Singin’ them shape note blues

It Makes No Difference

It makes no difference where I turn
I can't get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no difference, night or day
The shadow never seems to fade away

And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door

Now there's no love
As true as the love
That dies untold
But the clouds never hung so low before

It makes no difference how far I go
Like a scar, the hurt will always show
And it makes no difference who I meet
They're just a face in the crowd on a dead-end street

And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door

These old love letters
Well, I just can't keep
Just like the gambler says
Read 'em and weep
And the dawn don't rescue me no more

Without your love, I'm nothing at all
Like an empty hall, it's a lonely fall
Since you've gone it's a losing battle
Stampeding cattle, they rattle the walls

And the sun don't shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Well, I love you so much
That it's all I can do
Just to keep myself from telling you
That I’ve never felt so alone before

Blue Jean Sky

All the ghosts are in the trees
All afire in the glowing leaves
Love makes me wanna skin my knees
Throw my heart upon your healing

Underneath a blue jean sky
Underneath a blue jean sky
Open up your love and show it to me

Underneath a blue jean sky
Underneath a blue jean sky
Gimme a swig of a little kick ass beauty

Just the whisper of a breeze
Rollin’ up these threadbare shirtsleeves
Love makes me want to bruise my knees
Sweet Jesus can you come release me

Underneath a blue jean sky
Underneath a blue jean sky
Open up your love and lay it on me
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Underneath a blue jean sky
It’s just a faded blue jean sky
Gimme a swig of a little kick ass beauty
Gimme a swig of a little kick ass beauty

All the ghosts are in the trees

Baby If This Is Nowhere

Baby if this is Nowhere
How sweet it is to find
Baby if this is Nowhere
How sweet it is to find
Now that we are finally here
Nowhere suits me fine

I’m crazy for you baby
I hope that you can see
I’m crazy for you baby
I hope that you can see
When we disappear here
Ain’t nowhere I’d rather be

Baby if this is Nowhere
Ain’t it good to know
Baby if this is Nowhere
Ain’t it good to get to know
We’re right where we belong
When there’s nowhere left to go

So welcome now to nowhere
Where there’s nothin’ left to lose
Welcome now to nowhere
There’s nothin’ left to lose
Out here where the sky’s got a big ol’
Case of the blues
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
Baby if this is Nowhere
Then let the good dogs run
Baby if this is Nowhere
Then let the good dogs run
Finally we will lift a glass
When the dog days are done
Finally we will lift a glass

Wildflower Bouquet

If I die in the winter send roses
In the spring, magnolias
If I’m called in the summer or in the fall
Best of all, bring me a wildflower bouquet

In the dirt and clay don’t lay me down
And stare at a cold lonely hole in the ground
When I go to my Maker in smoke and ash
It won’t be your grief I crave

Your tears will not be necessary
Build a blazing fire, drink something merry
When the sparks fly off into the wind
That will be me blowing away

Bury my ashes with the dogs I’ve loved
My faithful companions from God above
And ‘neath a sycamore we’ll grow strong
And the roots will bear us away

If my one true Love should join me there
Mother nature soon will be aware
That sycamore will thrum and sing
And we’ll have left it that way
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
So I don’t want you to feel sorry
God knows how I despise your pity
And I’ll no longer bear the weight of worry
Those angry robes all fall away

I’ll be singing loud and laughing long
A blaze of glory and an untold song
So there’s no need for tears my friend
Just bring a wildflower bouquet

If I die in the winter send roses
In the springtime, magnolias
If I’m called in the summer or in the fall
Best of all, bring me a wildflower bouquet
Best of all, bring me a wildflower bouquet

Favorite Time Of Light

Leave the dishes in the sink don’t overthink it
Close up the brokenhearted piano
Join me on the porch if you can swing it
Let’s dream an ocean in Ohio

You’ve been working so hard I can feel it -
The clean and honest sweat upon your skin
I wanna see the rosy light on your face
Is this evening free or did it cost us everything

It’s our favorite time of light
Just before the day kisses the night
You see the redwing blackbirds fly
The sun’s a big ol’ lazy eye

And when the day is bending low
And rolling fields begin to glow
Feels like we traveled all this way
Just so I could hear you say
It’s our favorite
Our favorite time of light

Can you still hear those children singing?
Remember Jesus Loves Me This I Know
Now there’s just a lone blue heron flying
Dreaming an ocean in Ohio

It’s our favorite time of light
Just before the day kisses the night
You see the redwing blackbirds fly
The sun’s a big ol’ lazy eye
I'm always on the run and I hate copy paste for god's sake
The moon is waiting in the wings
Dreamin’ up some midnight song to sing
And I know we’ll be okay
Everytime I hear you say
It’s our favorite
Our favorite time of light

The dreams I’ve dreamed I give them all to you now
I’m not really sure what shape they’re in
Maybe they were all just too expensive
Maybe after dark we’ll try again

So add this to your list of simple beauties
I know we’re gonna miss it when we go
While barren fields undress their gentle mysteries
We dream an ocean in Ohio

It’s our favorite time of light
Just before the day kisses the night
You see the redwing blackbirds fly
The sun’s a big ol’ lazy eye

When they lay me down at last
And this life is finally past
Just remember me this way
And don’t forget to say
It’s our favorite
Our favorite time of light

Non Albums Tracks

Angel Band

( Traditional / Live From Nowhere Volume 3 )

My latest sun is sinking fast
My race is nearly run
My strongest trials now have past
My triumph is begun

Oh, come, angel band
Come and around me, stand
Oh, bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home
Oh, bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home

Bear my longing heart to him
Who bled and died for me
Whose blood now cleanses from all sin
And gives me victory

Oh, come, angel band
Come and around me, stand
Oh, bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home
Oh, bear me away on your snowy wings
To my immortal home

Baby, It's Cold Outside

( Frank Loesser Cover / Live from nowhere vol.2 )

I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Oh baby it's cold outside
This evening has been - Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice - I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice
My mother will start to worry - Beautiful, what's your hurry
My father will be pacing the floor - Listen to the fireplace roar
So really I'd better scurry - Beautiful, please don't hurry
well maybe just a half a drink more - Put some music on while I pour

The neighbors might think - Baby, it's bad out there
Say, what's in this drink - No cabs to be had out there
I wish I knew how - Your eyes are like starlight now
To break this spell - I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell
I ought to say no, no, sir - Mind if I move a little closer
At least I'm gonna say that I tried - What's the sense in hurting my pride
And I really can't stay - Baby don't hold out
Oh, but baby it's cold outside

C'mon baby

I simply must go - Baby, it's cold outside
The answer is no - Oh baby, it's cold outside
This welcome has been - I'm lucky that you dropped in
So nice and warm - Look out the window at that storm
My sister will be suspicious - Man, your lips look so delicious
My brother will be there at the door - Waves upon a tropical shore
My granmother's mind is vicious - Gosh your lips look delicious
Well maybe just a half a drink more - Never such a blizzard before

I've got to go home - Oh, baby, you'll freeze out there
Say, lend me your comb - It's up to your knees out there
You've really been grand - Your eyes are like starlight now
But don't you see - How can you do this thing to me
There's bound to be talk tomorrow - Making my life long sorrow
At least there will be plenty implied - If you caught pneumonia and died
I really can't stay - Get over that old out
Oh, but baby it's cold outside
Oh yes it is

Wanna take a little walk out to the barn
Is that where you keep your big white horse

Everybody Wants to Feel Like You

( John Prine cover / Live from nowhere vol.2 )

I wake up to a clock that's rinning
And the birds are singing on my telephone line
I work all day and I chase my baby
Why don't he chase me sometime

Everybody wants to be wanted
I mean I ain't no scarecrow cop
I don't need no transalazation
I don't need no diddly bop

Next time tell me that you want me
Put your little foot inside of my shoe
Next time you tell me that you need me
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you

I used to love you so hard in the morning
I'd make you stutter and roll your eyes
I put your mind on a brief vacation
To the land of the lost surprise

Next time tell me that you want me
Put your little foot inside of my shoe
Next time you tell me that you need me
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you

You got a heart that beats like mine love
You got a bell that rings so true
I got this feeling I got to tiptoe
Round every little thing you do

Next time tell me that you want me
Put your little foot inside of my shoe
Next time you tell me that you need me
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you
Everybody wants to feel like you
Like you, like you

Failed Christian

( Nick Lowe Cover / Live from nowhere vol.2 )

I'm a Failed Christian
I don't go to church
I smoke and I drink
And I lie and I curse

It never got to me
Your sermon and all
You talked and you talked
About nothing at all

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian, yeah

I've got two recollections
Taking the collections
And tears when the choir sang in harmony
It scared me half to death
I swore as I left
With a inside pocket full of change and memories

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian

I'm a Failed Christian
I've got my own church
I pray with my soul
To this great universe

All over the world
The bloods on their hands
Religious instruction
I can't understand

I'm a Failed Christian,
Failed Christian, yeah

I'm going to meet my maker
A firm believer
Of spirit in music
There's a prayer in a song

I'm a Failed Christian
And if I'm go under
And you're coming with me
That much I can't tell

I'm a Failed Christian
Failed Christian, yeah
Failed Christian
Failed, failed, failed...

I'm a Failed Christian
I don't go to church
I smoke and I drink
And I lie and I curse

Fever

( Eddie Cooley, Otis Blackwell / Live from nowhere vol.2 )

What a lovely way
What a lovely way
What a lovely way to burn

Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get the fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever

When you kiss me
And fever when you hold me tight
Fever
In the morning
Fever all through the night

Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
Cause you know I'm gonna treat you right
You give me fever

When you kiss me
And fever when you hold me tight
Fever
In the morning
Fever all through the night

Listen to me babe
Here are the real words I say
No-one can love you the way that I do
Cause they don't know how to love you my way
My love your fever

When I kiss you
Fever if you live and learn
Fever, and you sizzle
What a lovely way to burn
What a lovely way to burn, oh baby
What a lovely way, oh, to burn

What a lovely way
What a lovely way, oh to burn

Moondance

( Van Morrison Cover / Live from nowhere vol.1 )

Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
'Neath the cover of December skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And I'm trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

Can I just have one more Moondance with you, my love
Can I just make some more romance with you, my love

Well, I wanna make love to you tonight
I can't wait 'til the morning has come
And I know that the time is just right
And straight into my arms you will run
And when you come my heart will be waiting
To make sure that you're never alone
There and then all my dreams will come true, dear
There and then I will make you my own
And every time I touch you, you just tremble inside
And I know how much you want me that you can't hide...

Motherless child

( American Negro Spirituals / Live From Nowhere Volume 3 )

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long ways from home

Sometimes I wish I could fly like a bird up in the sky
Sometimes I wish I could fly like a bird up in the sky
Sometimes I wish I could fly like a bird up in the sky
But I'm a long way from home

Sometimes I feel like a change is gonna come
Sometimes I feel like a change oh, oh, like a change
Oh sometimes I feel, oh like a change is gonna come
But we're a long way from home

Orphan Girl

( Emmylou Harris cover / Live from nowhere vol.2 )

I am a orphan
On God's highway
But I'll share my troubles
If you go my way

I have no mother
No father
No sister
No brother
I am an orphan girl

I have had friendships
Pure and golden
But the ties of kinship
I have not known them

I know no mother
No father
No sister
No brother
I am an orphan girl

But when he calls me
I will be Able
To meet my family
At God's table

I'll meet my mother
My father
My sister
Oh my brother
No more an orphan girl

Blessed savior
Make me willing
And walk beside me
until I'm with them

Be my mother
My father
My sister
Oh my brother
I am an orphan girl
I am an orphan girl

Paper moon

( H. Arlen / Live from nowhere vol.1 )

Said it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Yes it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Without your love
It's a hunky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played
In a penny arcade

It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Said it's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Yes it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

Without your love
It's a hunky tonk parade
Without your love
It's a melody played
In a penny arcade

It's a Barnum and Bailey world
Just as phony as it can be
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me

It's phony it's plain to see
How happy I would be
If you believed in me

Son of a preacher man

(john hurley / ronnie wilkins - Live from nowhere vol.1)

Billy-ray was a preacher's son
And when his daddy would visit hed come along
When they gathered round and started talking
That's when billy would take me walking
Out through the back yard we'd go walking
Then he'd look into my eyes
Lord knows to my surprise

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh yes he was

Being good isn't always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talking to me
Hed come and tell me "everything is all right"
He'd kiss and tell me "everything is all right"
Can I get away again tonight?

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh yes he was

How well I remember
The look that was in his eyes
Stealing kisses from me on the sly
Taking time to make time
Telling me that he's all mine
Learning from each other's knowing
Looking to see how much we've grown

And the only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh yes he was

The only boy who could ever teach me
The sweet-talking son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
I guessed he was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Sweet-loving son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Sweet-loving son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, oh