Michael Timmins

Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire

I got Willie on the radio
a dozen things on my mind
and number one is fleshing out
these dreams of mine

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

In Nashville there is a lighter
in a case for all to see
it speaks of dreams and heartaches
left unsung

And in the corner stands a guitar and
lonesome words scrawled in a drunken hand
I don't travel past, travel hard before
and I'm beginning to understand

That I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

They say that I am crazy
my life wasting on this road
that time will find my dreams
scared or dead and cold

But I heard there is a light
drawing me to reach an end
and when I reach there, I'll turn back
and you and I can begin again

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But I wouldn't trade all your golden tomorrows
for one hour of this night

Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire

I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?

And on that fateful day
Perhaps in the new sun of May
My baby walks back into my arms
I'll keep him beside me
forever from harm

You see I was afraid
to let my baby stray
I kept him too tightly by my side
and then one sad day
he went away and he died

Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
without a dream in my heart
without a love of my own
Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
someone I really could care for

I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?

I hope that I find what I'm reaching for
The way that it is in my mind
I hope that I won't be that wrong anymore
and maybe to have learned this time

Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss
Dreaming my dreams with you

But I won't let it change me, not if I can
I'd rather believe in love
and give it away as much as I can
To those that I am fondest of

Someday I'll get over you
I'll live to see it all through
But I'll always miss
Dreaming my dreams with you

Someday I'll get over you
I'll miss dreaming with you
Someday I'll get over you
I'll miss dreaming with you
Someday

Breaking away to the other side
I wanna make sense of why we live and die
I don't get it, I don't get it

I ask my friends if they understand
They just laugh at me and watch another band
They don't worry, they don't worry

Lookin' for a way to lose my load
I wanna make it easy to walk this road
I can't find it, yeah I can't find it

Yeah, I'm looking for answers in so many places
I open my mind
I don't get it

Walkin' this earth and keepin' my peace
I do what I want but the price is steep
It don't seem right, it don't seem right

My mama she told me "One step at a time
and sooner or later you'll walk that line"
I don't want to, I don't want to

Takin' my time to live and die
I wanna find a way to do it right
and I ease on, and I ease on

They say "One thing always leads to another"
I open my mind
I don't get it

Breaking away to the other side
I wanna make sense of why we live and die
I don't get it, I don't get it
I don't get it, I don't get it
I don't get it

Hear the lonesome whippoorwill
His song's too blue to fly
The midnight train is a-winding low
I'm so lonesome I could cry

I've never seen a night so long
When time keeps crawling by
The moon is gone behind the clouds
To hide his face and cry

Have you ever seen a robin weep
When leaves have turned to brown?
Like me he's lost his will to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple haze
and as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry

We are miners, hard rock miners
To the shaft house we must go
Pour your bottles on our shoulders
We are marching to the slow

On the line boys, on the line boys
Drill your holes and stand in line
Till the shift boss comes to tell you
You must drill her out on top

Can't you feel the rock dust in your lungs?
It'll cut down a miner when he is still young
Two years and the silicosis takes hold
And I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold

Yes I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold

I said "Mama, he's crazy and he scares me
But I want him by my side
though he's wild and he's bad
and sometimes just plain mad
I need him to keep me satisfied"

I said "Papa, don't cry cause it's alright
And I see you in some of his ways
Though he might not give me the life that you wanted
I'll love him the rest of my days"

Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer, black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead

I said "Brother, you speak to me of passion
You said never to settle for nothing less
Well, it's in the way he walks,
it's in the way he talks
His smile, his anger and his kisses"

I said "Sister, don't you understand?
He's all I ever wanted in a man
I'm tired of sittin' around the T.V. every night
Hoping I'm finding a Mr. Right"

Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer
Black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead

He says "Baby, don't listen to what they say
There comes a time when you have to break away"
He says "Baby there are things we all cling to all our life
It's time to let them go and become my wife"

Misguided angel hangin' over me
Heart like a Gabriel, pure and white as ivory
Soul like a Lucifer
Black and cold like a piece of lead
Misguided angel, love you 'til I'm dead

Especially with my head pounding
and lying helpless in my bed
I long for you and your expert hands
To ease this white heat from my head

And you would boast that you knew
All the pressure points inside
And you could just as easily kill me
Beneath the desire that I hide

But as your patient I knew
That your healing powers had grown
From a sore that's far far deeper
Than this heart where the pain was born

With my head again clear
I think of words to send to you
To coax you back to my side
But always leave out "I love you"

And then through my front door
A picture of a faraway land
And to with love on the back
And once again I reach for my pen

Anyone who's ever had a heart
Wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who's ever played a part
Wouldn't turn around and hate it

Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane
You're waiting
For Jimmy down in the alley
Waiting there
For him to come back home
Waiting down on the corner
And thinking of ways
To get back home

Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane
Anyone who's ever had a dream
Anyone who's ever played a part
Anyone who's ever been lonely
And anyone who's ever split apart

Sweet Jane, sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane
Heavenly widened roses
Seem to whisper to me
When you smile
Heavenly widened roses
Seem to whisper to me
When you smile

La la la la, la la la,
Sweet Jane
Sweet, sweet Jane

I buried him down by the river
'cause that's where he liked to be
and every night when the moon is high
I go there and weep openly

He and I were married
By this river 'neath this willow tree
and with God and friends witnessing it
He pledged his life to me

To me he was Earth
and I rooted in his soil
I to he was Sky vast and free
of the burdens from which he toiled

Then one night a terrible fight
Words spoken better left unsaid
With his wedding vows ringing in my ears
He gave his life to me

They say to love is to bury
Those demons from which we all hide
But tonight by this river 'neath this willow tree
Becoming one of Earth and Sky

I was walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
The way we used to do
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

I stop to see a weeping willow
Crying on his pillow
Maybe he's a-crying for me
and as the skys turn gloomy
The night winds whisper to me
I'm lonesome as I can be
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

I walk for miles along the highway
Well that's just my way
of saying "I love you"
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you
I walk for miles along the highway
Searching for you

I'm always walking after midnight
Yeah, out in the moonlight
Hoping you may be
Somewhere a-walking after midnight
Searching for me
I'm always walking after midnight
Searching for you

Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, for my Lord
If I was a drunkard I tell you what I'd do
I would quit my drinking and work on that building too

Working on a building, a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord
If I was a liar I tell you what I'd do
I would quit my lying and work on that building too

Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord

Working on a building, it's a Holy Ghost building
For my Lord, yeah for my Lord
If I was a singer I tell you what I'd do
I would keep on singing and work on that building too

[Bruce Springsteen cover]

Saigon, it was all gone
The same coke machines as the streets i grew on
Down a mesquite canyon we come walking along the ridge
Me and the brothers under the bridge

Campsite's an hour's walk from the nearest road to town
Up here there's too much brush and canyon for the chp choppers to touch down
Ain't lookin' for nothin', just wanna live
Me and the brothers under the bridge

Come the santa ana's, man, that dry brush'll light
Billy devon got burned up in his own campfire one winter night
We buried his body in the white stone high up along the ridge


Me and the brothers under the bridge

Had enough of town and the street life
Over nothing you end up on the wrong end of someone's knife
Now i don't want no trouble and i ain't got none to give
Me and the brothers under the bridge

I come home in '72
You were just a beautiful light in your mama's dark eyes of blue
I stood down on the tarmac, i was just a kid
Me and the brothers under the bridge

Come veteran's day i sat in the stands in my dress blues
I held your mother's hand when they passed with the red, white and blue
One minute you're right there . . . Then something slips . . .

September skies,
Bodies falling
Never again will you catch me admiring
Those vast september skies.

October skies,
Hate is flying.
Crimson leaves slowly falling
From azure october skies.

Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
And sing about it.

November skies,
Heart is sinking.


No telling where they're leading
These grey november skies.

Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
And sing about it.

December skies, star will be rising.
Will we heed those lessons ringing
Through those dark december skies.

Time to kill our children
And sing about it.
Let's all kill our children
And sing about it.

[Richie Havens cover]

You can talk about your neighbor
You can grab him by the collar
You can hurt him only if he hollers
"let me go?-let me go"

But we all know that's old-fashioned
And it can only lead to pain
Where we might end up on the corner
Taking handouts in the rain

You can bomb your foreign brother
You can hurt him until he dies
You can kill him until he never asks you why
You're on his land?-you're on his land

But we all know that's all over
And that can only lead to blame
Where we might end up for our country
Taking handouts in the rain



You can trample on your sister
You can hurt her only if she cries
You can hurt her only if she cares
With all her heart?-with all her heart

But we all know she'd be a mother
And that could only lead to shame
Where she might end up for her children
Taking handouts in the rain

Teach your children stories
You can fill them full of lies
You can make them all despise
One another?-one another

But when they all find out later
And they call us by our rightful names
And send us shamefully to old age
Taking handouts in the rain
Taking handouts in the rain
Taking handouts in the rain

[John Lennon cover]

Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Well i don't wanna be a rich man mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a poor man mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a lawyer mamma, i don't wanna lie
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

Well i don't wanna be a beggar mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a theif now mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a churchman mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
Hit it!

Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Well i don't wanna be a sailor mamma, i don't wanna fly
Well i don't wanna be a failure mamma, i don't wanna cry
Well i don't wanna be a soldier mamma, i don't wanna die
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no

I'm tilting on the break of shit
Decisions making in my life
Makes me loose it i ain't taking it this way i ain't making it
There n mistakes but if i'm wrong i will pay for it
Like them bills i hate to pay


Today i stay brave to win every day i'm a soldier
I don't wanna die. I ain't know killer either
So why does mama cry?
She needs to feed her child
But she's a child in her father's eyes
Ya'll better recognize
The power parents recking with
Does it make sense to make way for censorship?
It's brains we messing with
Across the planes we got kids n chains and whips
Who live their lives censor less but we couldn't give a shit.
I don't wanna lie
Cheaters will cheat
Some will rather reach jesus
Before meeting defeat
I think it's easy to see i you be seeing these streets
Sometimes my eyes
Can't believe what they see,
On tv, young like me sent over seas
Sent over greed i believe
Is this what we need?
Yo these guys like me.
To add fire to the fuel
Life twisted my views
Just from flicking the news
I gives me the early 21st century blues
But we making it threw
Make what you make it
You can't redo what you do
I'm the living proof making it threw the 21st century blues
Peace.

Isn't it a pity
Now, isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity

Some things take so long
But how do i explain
When not too many people
Can see we're all the same
And because of all their tears
Their eyes can't hope to see

The beauty that surrounds them
Isn't it a pity

Isn't it a pity
Isn't is a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity

Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity
Forgetting to give back
Now, isn't it a pity

<i>[Bob Dylan cover]</i>

Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth
He can do with it as he please
And if things don't change soon, he will
Oh, man has invented his doom
First step was touching the moon
Now there's a woman on my block
She just sit there as the night grow still
She say who gonna take away his license to kill

Now, they take him and they teach him
And they groom him for life
And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill
Then they bury him with stars
Sell his body like they do used cars
Now there's a woman on my block
She just sit there facin' the hill
She say who gonna take away his license to kill

Now, he's hell bent for destruction
He's afraid and confused
And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill
All he believes are his eyes
And his eyes they just tell him lies
But there's a woman on my block
Sitting there in a cold chill

She say who gonna take away his license to kill

May be noisemaker, spirit maker
Heartbreaker, backbreaker
Leave no stone unturned
May be an actor in a plot
That might be all that you got
Till your error you clearly learn

Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool
And when he sees his reflection he's fulfilled
Oh, man is opposed to fair play
He wants it all and he wants it his way
Now, there's a woman on my block
She just sit there as the night grow still
She say who gonna take away his license to kill

[Traditional]

No more my lord
No more my lord
Lord i'll never turn back, no more

I have found in him
Many resting place
And he has made me glad

No more my lord


No more my lord
Lord i'll never turn back, no more.

Jesus, the man i am looking for
Can you tell me where
He has gone?

Go down, go down
In my flower yard
And perhaps you may find
Find him there.

[U2 cover]

Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You've got someone to blame

You say one love one life
When its one need in the night
one love we get to share it
It leaves you baby if you dont care for it

Did i disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

Well it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other carry each other one


Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play jesus
To the lepers in your head?

Did i ask too much more than a lot
You gave me nothing now it's all i got
We're one but we're not the same
Well we hurt each other then we do it again

You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter, but then you make me
And i can't be holding on to what
When all you got is hurt one love one blood
One life you got to do what you should
One life with each othersisters brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other carry each other one

Try to find the reference
It makes no difference to me.
Draw your own conclusions,
Add to my confusion if you please.
The time for concessions
And midnight confessions is long gone.
I'll sit here in the silence
And wait for all the violence to engulf me.

I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.

Vengeance has been tasted,
Hatred cultivated,
Its an old game.
Everyone gets fatter,
People choose what matters,
There's no shame.


I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.

Simple as a folk tale,
Deadly as a stairwell,
It surrounds you.
Stupid men and bastards
Always bite their masters.
They will get you.

I hate to take the easy way out, now people,
But options are closing down fast.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.

This world dreams of

[Traditional]

He was just a blue-eyed boston boy
His voice was low with pain
I'll do your bidding commrad mine
If i ride back again
But if you ride back and i am dead
You'll do as much for me
Mother, you know, must hear the news
So write to her tenderly

She's a-waiting at home like a patient saint
Her fallen face paled with woe
Her heart would be broken when i am gone
I'll see her soon, i know.
Just then the order came to charge
For an instant hand touched hand
They sayed "aye" and away they rode
That brave and devoted band


Straight was the course to the top of the hill
And the rebels they shot and shelled
Plowed furroughs of death through the toiling ranks
And guarded them as they fell
There soon was a horrible dying yell
From heights that they could not gain
And those who doom and death had spared
Rode slowly back again

But among the dead that were left on the hill
Was the boy with curly hair
The tall dark man who fought by his side
Lay dead beside him there
Well there was was no one to write to the blue-eyed girl
The words that her lover had said
While mother at home is awaiting her boy
She'll only know he's dead
She'll only know he's dead

[Bruce Springsteen cover]

Shirts in the closet, shoes in the hall
Mama's in the kitchen, baby and all
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing

Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing

Pictures on the nightstand, tv's on in the den
Your house is waiting, your house is waiting
For you to walk in, for you to walk in


But you're missing, you're missing

You're missing when I shut out the lights
You're missing when I close my eyes
You're missing when I see the sun rise
You're missing

Children are asking if it's alright
Will you be in our arms tonight?

Morning is morning, the evening falls I got
Too much room in my bed, too many phone calls
How's everything, everything?
Everything, is everything you're missing, you're missing

God's drifting in heaven, devil's in the mailbox
I got dust on my shoes, nothing but teardrops

Darkness, darkness be my pillow
Take my hand and let me sleep
In the coolness of your shadow
In the silence of your deep

Darkness, darkness hide my yearning
For the things I cannot see
Keep my mind from constant turning
To the things I cannot be

Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with this endless night
Take away, oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light
Emptiness with light now

Darkness, darkness long and lonesome
As the day that brings me here
I have found the edge of sadness
I have the known the depths of fear

Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with the endless night
Take away, oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light now
Emptiness with light now, now

Darkness, darkness be my blanket
Cover me with the endless night
Take away oh, this pain of knowing
Fill this emptiness with light now
Oh, with light now

Darkness, darkness be my pillow
Take my hand and let me sleep
In the coolness of your shadow
In the silence of your deep
In the silence of your deep
In the, oh, oh, hey, yeah, oh, yeah

In the summer baby
Oh yeah, oh, in the summer baby
In the summer baby
Ooh yeah
Come, on come on, come on, come on baby
Come on, come on, come on baby
Come on, come on, come on baby
In the summer time baby
In the summer time

To Hunting Ground from City.
That's where my baby took me with her smile.
To Hunting Ground from City.
I never thought that I'd have to retrace those miles.
It's been a while since I've seen that smile
Appear upon her face
And now I find I'm slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

To Hunting Ground from City.
Our daughters eyes they took us for a ride.
To Hunting Ground from City.
Cat's eyes sparkling, blue eyes in my mind.
We said goodbye under a drop of sky
We left her in that place
And now we find we're slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

From Hunting Ground from City.
The journey down is sure to be a laugh.
From Hunting Ground from City.
At least we'll have each other to see it pass.
I've seen that line of broken minds
And I fear to join it's ranks,
But still I find I'm slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

He will call you baby
But will he listen when you cry?
He will call you sweetheart
But always seem apart.
He will tear all your fences down,
Trample all into the ground.
He will call you baby.

She will call you honey
And leave you twisting in the wind.
She will call you darling,
Keep you stunned and wondering.


She will take you to another world
Where the winds of confusion swirl.
She will call you honey.

We should call them lucky
As they watch their babies dance.
Or maybe call them crazy
For even thinking they have a chance.
They will carry her as far as they can
Then abandon her once again,
They will call her baby.
They will call her baby

He will call you baby
But will he listen when you cry?
He will call you sweetheart
But always seem apart.
He will tear all your fences down,
Trample all into the ground.
He will call you baby.

She will call you honey
And leave you twisting in the wind.
She will call you darling,
Keep you stunned and wondering.


She will take you to another world
Where the winds of confusion swirl.
She will call you honey.

We should call them lucky
As they watch their babies dance.
Or maybe call them crazy
For even thinking they have a chance.
They will carry her as far as they can
Then abandon her once again,
They will call her baby.
They will call her baby

(Townes Van Zandt)

Well, won't you lend your lungs to me?
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe up the time that's passing
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give and pray the day's not poison
Stand among the ones that live in lonely indecision

Fingers walk the darkness down
Mind is on the midnight
"Gather up the gold you've found,
you fool, it's only moonlight
and if you try to take it home your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone, try to find another"

Salvation sat and crossed herself and called The Devil partner
Wisdom burned upon a shelf
"Who'll kill the raging cancer?"
Seal the river at it's mouth
Take the water prisoner
Fill the skies with screams and cries
Bathe in fiery answers

Jesus was an only son and love his only concept
Strangers talk in foreign tongues and dirty up the doorstep
and I for one, and you for two ain't got time for outside
Just keep your injured looks to you
we'll tell the world we tried

Keep your injured looks to you
we'll tell the world we tried

Betrayed? It's the question
That I am asking.
Or just a lucky one deceived by too much love.

Confused. Is the issue.
I'm in need of high rescue.
Another lucky one stunned by too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.

Lost. Is the place
Where I'm hammering stakes.
Sign says, "A lucky one done in by too much love."

Saved. Is the state
That we are told was graced.


He was just a lucky one betrayed by too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.

Life. Is the riddle
Of which we're caught in the middle.
A couple of lucky ones
Tangled up in too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.
My wild child brings me home.

Betrayed? It's the question
That I am asking.
Or just a lucky one deceived by too much love.

Confused. Is the issue.
I'm in need of high rescue.
Another lucky one stunned by too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.

Lost. Is the place
Where I'm hammering stakes.
Sign says, "A lucky one done in by too much love."

Saved. Is the state
That we are told was graced.


He was just a lucky one betrayed by too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.

Life. Is the riddle
Of which we're caught in the middle.
A couple of lucky ones
Tangled up in too much love.

My wild child
She's my salvaged shipwreck.
My wild child she's my stone.
My wild child
She's my constant reminder.
My wild child she's my home.
My wild child brings me home.

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

Another tale about an aging man,
A tried but twisted plot,
Another hero finding out that he's not.
Act one we watch the onion peel.
Act two the tragic flaw revealed.
In three we close our eyes as his fate's sealed.

This ain't no long journey home.

Here's a story about a once young girl
Whose life has turned to rot.
Thought she found her dreams but she had not.
Act one we see her bold and strong.
Act two we watch her fumble along.


In three we close our eyes as all goes wrong.

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

A cautionary tale for all who come this way,

A warning writ in water.
Act one you'll see it all so clear.
Act two you'll watch it disappear.
In three open your eyes and stare down your fears.

'Cause this ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

Another tale about an aging man,
A tried but twisted plot,
Another hero finding out that he's not.
Act one we watch the onion peel.
Act two the tragic flaw revealed.
In three we close our eyes as his fate's sealed.

This ain't no long journey home.

Here's a story about a once young girl
Whose life has turned to rot.
Thought she found her dreams but she had not.
Act one we see her bold and strong.
Act two we watch her fumble along.


In three we close our eyes as all goes wrong.

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

A cautionary tale for all who come this way,

A warning writ in water.
Act one you'll see it all so clear.
Act two you'll watch it disappear.
In three open your eyes and stare down your fears.

'Cause this ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.

My love swears that he is made of truth
I do believe him though I know he lies.
I've caught him creeping 'round darkened holes.
I've caught him staring at distant skies.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the notes fall slow.

Slow.

My love lives inside a haze of gloom.
He fears today, what might come tomorrow.


Seeks the shadow, shuns the light.
Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the note fall slow.

Slow.

This ain't no depression, just notes falling slow.
An early snow and notes falling slow.
Do I have the strength to bear their passion?
An early snow and notes falling slow.

My love swears that he is made of truth
I do believe him though I know he lies.
I've caught him creeping 'round darkened holes.
I've caught him staring at distant skies.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the notes fall slow.

Slow.

My love lives inside a haze of gloom.
He fears today, what might come tomorrow.


Seeks the shadow, shuns the light.
Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the note fall slow.

Slow.

This ain't no depression, just notes falling slow.
An early snow and notes falling slow.
Do I have the strength to bear their passion?
An early snow and notes falling slow.

Abandon all those precious things.
one soul now
Carry only what twilight brings.
one soul now
Watch the colour drain from the sky.
one soul now
Stillness settles, glides on by.
one soul now

I don't understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Fireflies drift on a midnight fog.
one soul now


Twinkling gifts from a puzzling god.
one soul now
Journey out into the fields.
one soul now
Crane our necks and watch us wheel.
on soul now

I don't understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Feel the weight of all those slings
one soul now
Carrying only what twilight brings
one soul now

Abandon all those precious things.
one soul now
Carry only what twilight brings.
one soul now
Watch the colour drain from the sky.
one soul now
Stillness settles, glides on by.
one soul now

I don't understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Fireflies drift on a midnight fog.
one soul now


Twinkling gifts from a puzzling god.
one soul now
Journey out into the fields.
one soul now
Crane our necks and watch us wheel.
on soul now

I don't understand how these things
move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Feel the weight of all those slings
one soul now
Carrying only what twilight brings
one soul now

Time slips away
And the light begins to fade
And everything is quiet now

Feeling is gone
And the picture disappears
And everything is cold now

The dream had to end
The wish never came true
And the girl, starts to sing

Seventeen seconds
A measure of life
Seventeen seconds

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

Gather 'round now people, I'm here to tell a tale
About a man who walks among you, a man you each know well.
My name is Simon Keeper I had a wife and three grown kids,
A job in the towers cooking the books for the shills that grease the skids.

Irony oh irony, you are a bitter fruit to eat.
Stripped of all your beauty your flesh is none too sweet.

Now I ain't the most honest man that ever worked a skim.
I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar and brother that was it.
Fifty-four and a big black mark upon my resume,
I found selling off what you don't own might earn you the time of day.

Next it was a letter from my darling one,
"what's yours is mine, what's mine is mine",
Sealed with a hug and kiss.
One by one my children closed their lives to me.
Lesson learned on Daddy's knee,
"give no quarter to the weak".


Irony oh irony, you are the polar seed of truth,
You grow upon the open plain the faithful you uproot.

Kicked around 'bout a year living hand to mouth,
Then one day tryin' to bum a light I felt my will give out.
Sat right down on the corner, started prayin' a little too loud.
Left my troubles far behind
When I saw them emptying their pockets out.

Irony oh irony, you are a treacherous son of a bitch,
Pretending not to care about the heights you'll never reach.

Now I won't start in preaching 'bout reaping what you sow,
This is the story of a half-hearted man,
Half honest as they go.
But sit on down and rest a spell I've got another tale to tell.
About a lost young man in a far away land whose life is just too easy to sell.

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

Gather 'round now people, I'm here to tell a tale
About a man who walks among you, a man you each know well.
My name is Simon Keeper I had a wife and three grown kids,
A job in the towers cooking the books for the shills that grease the skids.

Irony oh irony, you are a bitter fruit to eat.
Stripped of all your beauty your flesh is none too sweet.

Now I ain't the most honest man that ever worked a skim.
I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar and brother that was it.
Fifty-four and a big black mark upon my resume,
I found selling off what you don't own might earn you the time of day.

Next it was a letter from my darling one,
"what's yours is mine, what's mine is mine",
Sealed with a hug and kiss.
One by one my children closed their lives to me.
Lesson learned on Daddy's knee,
"give no quarter to the weak".


Irony oh irony, you are the polar seed of truth,
You grow upon the open plain the faithful you uproot.

Kicked around 'bout a year living hand to mouth,
Then one day tryin' to bum a light I felt my will give out.
Sat right down on the corner, started prayin' a little too loud.
Left my troubles far behind
When I saw them emptying their pockets out.

Irony oh irony, you are a treacherous son of a bitch,
Pretending not to care about the heights you'll never reach.

Now I won't start in preaching 'bout reaping what you sow,
This is the story of a half-hearted man,
Half honest as they go.
But sit on down and rest a spell I've got another tale to tell.
About a lost young man in a far away land whose life is just too easy to sell.

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so cruel and demanding
With his love.

Darling, sweet darling keep whispering
I'll find you through this din.
Sitting and watching,
Two flames busy dancing
To our love.


Grab on to this moment, inhale it
And hold it inside.
Savour its sweetness,
Yearn for the slide.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so discriminating
With his love.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so cruel and demanding
With his love.

Darling, sweet darling keep whispering
I'll find you through this din.
Sitting and watching,
Two flames busy dancing
To our love.


Grab on to this moment, inhale it
And hold it inside.
Savour its sweetness,
Yearn for the slide.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so discriminating
With his love.

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Singing " The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Came up the first day.
The moon did set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars did disappear.

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Dancing to "The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Came up the second day.
The moon did set.


The sun comes up.
And all the stars did disappear.

Times at night in the spill of light
You catch a glimpse.
You make a start with an eager heart,
But it always slips.
And then everything shifts.

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Trailing "The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Will come up the third day.
The moon will set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars will disappear.

Of all the lives to live why this one?
Filled with could-have-been. No fun.
Countless nights of anxious frustrations.
Of all the lives to live why this one?

Of all the souls to meet why these two?
One, old and dark, furious as a shrugging ocean.
The other, shiny, fresh as a winter morning.
Of all the souls to meet why these two?

Another night in bed with you
Another day beside you gone.
Slipping softly off to sleep


You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"

A dusty simple-minded piece of fiction.
Strange and odd, twisted as a contradiction.
A glittering jewel of flaws and celebration.

Another night in bed with you
Another day beside you gone.
Slipping softly off to sleep
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
Why this one, why this one, why this one?

Of all the lives to live why this one?
Filled with could-have-been. No fun.
Countless nights of anxious frustrations.
Of all the lives to live why this one?

Of all the souls to meet why these two?
One, old and dark, furious as a shrugging ocean.
The other, shiny, fresh as a winter morning.
Of all the souls to meet why these two?

Another night in bed with you
Another day beside you gone.
Slipping softly off to sleep


You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"

A dusty simple-minded piece of fiction.
Strange and odd, twisted as a contradiction.
A glittering jewel of flaws and celebration.

Another night in bed with you
Another day beside you gone.
Slipping softly off to sleep
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
You say, "do you ever wonder why this one?"
Why this one, why this one, why this one?

She was found beneath the gate,
Forsaken at the gate.
Who would have thought that so much love
Could be so carelessly misplaced.
Found. Beneath the gate.

We gazed upon the moon,
A honed and whetted moon.
Wondered if you saw the same
An hour from your mothers womb.


Gazing at the moon.

We stood beneath the gate.
Three beneath the gate.
The rare good will of the random world,
Smiling like a sickle moon.

She was found beneath the gate.
Forsaken at the gate.
Found beneath the gate.

Well I'm lyin' in my bed, a tangle of arms and legs,
But the one that I'm with is not the one bouncing 'round my head.
I could turn this into song or cheap fantasy,
But whatever I've ignited will still burn in me.

Bread and wine, bread and wine, your heart ain't nearly as guilty as mine.

I'm a dark heavy heart. I'm a soul full of holes.
I'm a boat that is sinking, muddy waters threatening this baggage in my hold.
And there's a line in my head from an old gospel song,
But no matter how hard I try, the words they just come out wrong.


Bread and wine, bread and wine your thoughts aint nearly as wicked as mine.
Bread and wine, bread and wine your cross aint nearly as heavy as mine.

I've been graced by the gift of a gold wedding band.
I've been soothed by the simple caress of my true love's hand.
And yet I'm lyin' in my bed, a tangle of arms and legs,
And the one that I'm with is not the one that I'm dreaming of.

Bread and wine, bread and wine, won't you please be my bread and wine.
Bread and wine, bread and wine, won't you please be my bread and wine.

I want to walk away
Like Judas from the table.
Turn my back
And walk away.

I want to close my eyes
Like that novice at the altar.
Bow my head
And close my eyes.

Sorrow took Love's splintered hands
And waltzed her 'cross a painted floor.
Whispered softly in her ear,


"let's get outta here".

I'm going to breathe the air
That my children will be breathing.
Breathe them out
And breathe them in again.

I'm going to close my eyes
And walk away.
Turn my back
Bow my head
And close my eyes.

Stuck in that dark hole again.
Someone throw me a ladder
On which I can depend.
Someone give me a handhold
To help me ascend.
Someone give me a reason
To start up these walls once again.

Lost in those gray clouds again.
Trying to punch my way through them
As fear settles in.


Earth growing larger as I fall into a spin.
Someone give me a reason
To take on those gray clouds again.

Caught in this rip tide again.
My mouth wide open,
The sea pouring in.
Perhaps I'll just float here
And see where this journey ends.
Until someone gives me a reason
To stay clear of those rip tides again.

Can't lose the taste of this river mud,
Black water in my lungs.
They say you can't step in the same river twice
Well I've been stepping in this river seems like most my life.

So sharpen up those dragging hooks
Tie that sheep shank tight
Cast into the river boys
We're dragging for those lost years tonight.

There's a man whose lost his wife
Said she'd be home by eight,
But that was well on three weeks ago
Now he's walking those banks searching for clues to her fate.

See that girl she's lost her boy
Flash flood stole him away.


Now she keeps a vigil on that suspension bridge
Praying for that river to return him one day.

So sharpen up those dragging hooks
Tie that clove hitch tight
Cast into the river boys
We're dragging for lost love tonight.

Can't lose the taste of this river mud
Black water in my lungs.
They say even the weariest river in the end will find the sea
But here among the cat tails all we discuss is breaking free

So sharpen up those dragging hooks
Tie that sheep shank tight
Cast into the water boys
We're dragging for lost souls tonight.

(I did it all for you)

She took his dentures from his mouth
And placed them in her own.
Took a shovel from the shed
And then dragged him from their home.
(I did it all for you.)
Left a note tacked to the door,
"Paid in full" is what it said.
High above I look below
And watch her slowly go.
River, like magnesium,
Burns.

(I did it all for you)

He stuck his fingers in their backs
To count the holes he bore.
Doused them all in kerosene


And moved to bolt the door.
(I did it all for you)
Called his Dad and said goodbye
As his lit match hit the floor.
High above I look below
And watch them slowly go.
River, like magnesium,
Burns.

(I did it all for you)

Set his guilt before his rage
Set it like a wall
To protect what he once knew as love,
But which he never knew at all.
River, like magnesium,
Burns.
(I did it all for you)
(I did it all for you)

I've been told that it's just the way life goes.
Once the wildest river is now a trickle to the sea.
The peak we risk our lives to scale becomes dirt beneath our feet.
The wisdom of a life time always disappears untapped.
Paradise once given will always be taken back.
And the love you hang your life upon will start to slowly crack.

I have seen people suffocate the dream.
Forgetting to turn that one last time while she watches through the door.
Focusing on the garbage that she use to ignore.
Thinking she looks so beautiful but not yelling it out loud.
He should have thought to kiss her before he headed out.
Just forgetting how f**king lucky you are to have found her in such a crowd.



But we've seen a cloud of starlings rising on a crisp autumn day.
We were handed the weight of a child sleeping and bore her away.
We've tasted the tears that fall when saying goodbye forever.
And we've seen the silver from a waxing moon wash upon the shore.

I have heard about the lives of small swift birds.
They dazzle with their colour and their deftness through the air.
Just a simple glimpse will keep you simply standing there.
Legendary journeys made on fragile hollow wings.
The night skies rich with whistling each and every spring.
And then there's the day we look for them and can't find them anywhere.

I've been told that it's just the way life goes.

Here we all are at the end of "the century of beauty lost".
We greedily ate what you gave us, the rest we tossed.
We've trapped all your rivers, paved every pass,
Pulled at your sky till we caused it to rip.
But you've got Jimi Hendrix so lets call it an even split.

I've met a girl who has turned my whole world upside down.
The stars I once stretched for, now litter the ground.
I am cursed by too little, or is it too much belief,


In the strength of another man's words.
But I've got a girl, thank you Lord.

Here we all are at the start of another thousand years.
All those love stories, yet to be told.
Ours is this river asleep at our feet,
Blessed by this wet autumn day.
Here we all are...

(a curly blonde disaster
Lying out there)

He said, "you make me feel
As desired as a crackling fire."
She said, "I saw a man out walking
Upon still waters...

(I want to lie beside you
In a warm bed,

Feel your heart


Beat in my throat.)

...and no one stopped to stare.
There he was all, alone,
Out walking upon still waters."

He said, "you can feel it fall,
All at once upon the land."
She said, "you don't know what you've missed
Until you've walked upon still waters."

(a curly blonde disaster)

It's the kind of night that's so cold, when you spit
It freezes before it hits the ground
And when a bum asks you for a quarter, you give a dollar
If he's out tonight he must be truly down
And I'm searching all the windows for a last minute present
To prove to you that what I said was real,
For something small and frail and plastic, baby,
'cause cheap is how I feel

Half moon in the sky tonight, bright enough
To come up with an answer
To the question why is it that every time I see you
My love grows a little stronger


But your memory leaves my stomach churning,
Feeling like a lie about to be revealed,
But I'll horde all this to myself
'cause cheap is how I feel

It's not the smell in here that gets to me it's the lights
I hate the shadows that they cast,
And the sound of clinking bottles is the one sure thing
I'll always drag with me from my past
I think I'll find a pair of eyes tonight, to fall into
And maybe strike a deal
Your body for my soul, fair swap
'cause cheap is how I feel

Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire

I got Willie on the radio
a dozen things on my mind
and number one is fleshing out
these dreams of mine

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

In Nashville there is a lighter
in a case for all to see
it speaks of dreams and heartaches
left unsung

And in the corner stands a guitar and
lonesome words scrawled in a drunken hand
I don't travel past, travel hard before
and I'm beginning to understand

That I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

They say that I am crazy
my life wasting on this road
that time will find my dreams
scared or dead and cold

But I heard there is a light
drawing me to reach an end
and when I reach there, I'll turn back
and you and I can begin again

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But there'll be no warm sheets or welcoming arms
to fall into tonight

I've got 200 more miles of rain asphalt in line
before I sleep
But I wouldn't trade all your golden tomorrows
for one hour of this night

Atlanta's a distant memory
Montgomery a recent birth
and Tulsa burns on the desert floor
like a signal fire

(larry williams)

A bad little boy moved into the neighborhood
He won't do nothin' right just a-sittin' got to look so good
He don't wanna go to school and learn to read and write
Just sits around the house and plays that rock n' roll music all night

Well, he put thumbtacks on teacher's chair
Put chewing gum in li'l girl's hair
Now junior, behave yourself!

Buys every rock n' roll book on the magazine stand
Every dime that he gets, oh is off to the juke box man
Well, he worries his teacher till she's a-ready to poop


From rockin' and a rollin' spinnin' in a hula-hoop

Well, his rock n' roll has gotta stop
Junior's head is hard as rock
Now junior, behave yourself!

Gonna tell your mama you'd better do what she said
Get to the barber shop and get that hair cut off your head
You shoot the canary and you fed it to the neighboor's cat
You gave the cocker spaniel a bath in mother's laundromat

Well, your mama said it's gotta stop
Junior's head is hard as rock
Now junior, behave yourself!

I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?

And on that fateful day
Perhaps in the new sun of May
My baby walks back into my arms
I'll keep him beside me
forever from harm

You see I was afraid
to let my baby stray
I kept him too tightly by my side
and then one sad day
he went away and he died

Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
without a dream in my heart
without a love of my own
Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
someone I really could care for

I only want to say
That if there is a way
I want my baby back with me
'cause he's my true love
my only one don't you see?

Look under his floorboards, Mama,
I don't trust his silly grin
He's got a beat-up Rambler, Nebraska plates,
and I ain't getting in
I don't like the way his pinky ring
picks up the dashboard light
or his short little piggy fingers
or the way his belt is cinched too tight

Check under his floorboards, Mama,
I don't like his suggestive tone
The way his words drip from his mouth
as he asks can I take you home?
I don't care how many miles I got,
I think I'd rather walk them alone
than to sit in the back seat
as his eyes in the mirror
reduce me to flesh and bone

Check under his floorboards, Mama,
'cause that razor's not just a threat to me
He'll be slicing tiny crescents from your heart,
without laying a sweaty palm to your cheek
Don't accuse me of running scared,
listen to what I'm saying
It's a fucked up ol' world, but this ol' girl
Well, she ain't giving in

They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
They tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
Well, if that's the case, that's the case
I think I'm going to kill that man
Then drop down on my knees

Well, this morning, God knows, that man he comes a-waltzing in
Just waltzing in
Well, I got my shotgun, I broke down
I started to mow that man down

Yeah, they tell me God forgives you
If that's the case now, people
I'm gonna mow my baby down

You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out
You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat Margo right
Now darling, there come a time
You're gonna need my love again

They tell me God forgives me for almost anything you do

You don't seem to understand
I've got your life right in my hands

Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
Anything you do
Well, if that's the case, that's the case
I think I'm going to kill that man
Then drop down on my knees

This morning, God knows, that man he comes waltzing in
Just waltzing in
Well, I grabbed my shotgun, I broke down
I started to mow that man down

Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything you do
If that's the case now, people
I'm gonna mow my baby down
I'm gonna mow my baby down
I'm gonna shoot that man

You don't put yourself out, you don't put yourself out
You don't treat Margo right, you don't treat your baby right
Now darling, there come a time
You're gonna need my love again

Yeah, they tell me God forgives you for almost anything
Anything you do

Emma's in a part of town
where she doesn't recognize the streets
named for famous native sons
and out of every crevice comes creeping
a threat in her direction
Lucy's outside her home
heading towards her corner store
she stays on well-travelled paths
and is always making sure
that she doesn't develop patterns

There are trap lines
running up and down Main Street
wire snares thirsting for your neck and feet

Susan doesn't like the way her curtains
are blowing in the wind
She swears she locked that window
before she went out dancing
she stands frozen in her doorway
Judy hears a sound coming from the other room
she knows she should be alone
'cause the kids left at noon
to go visit their father

Quick to your phone dial 911
invite a strange man into your home
who'll be carrying a gun

Leslie's working late
she's got a deadline to meet
In walks her boss,
upon her desk he puts his feet
and says alone at last
Reanne's got a new boyfriend
and they're getting along
until he locks the door and says don't struggle,
I'm stronger than you are.

Just one question I'm dying to ask, you said,
do you know what it's like to be hunted?