Well, my father told me
The he will always know me
That I could always walk away
That I could trip or falter
Deny the family altar
And he would love me anyway
And it's a long trip to
Lead everybody home
And when you need relief
They're gonna make you carry
Everything alone
People gonna stab and jeer you
The ears you call won't hear you
But it's for them you'd see it through
While you're among the living
You've gotta keep forgiving
For they know not what they do
And it's a long trip to
Lead everybody home
And when you need a friend
They'll just smile and say
You came alone
You'll see a kiss betray you
Watch as they think they play you
You will let them break your heart
But you'll befriend the weak
And you will wash your cheek
And prepare it for them from the start
Cause it's a long trip to
Lead everybody home
And when they most need you
That's when they'll find
They're not alone
We were young and awkward
We'll be old and awkward soon
In the towns between us
They will hear my thoughts pass through
When I'm alone on the weekend
Broadcastin' live from my room
Watchin' the snow fall
Dreamin' of a rainy day in June
You don't have to worry
About the timing of this lovely mess
We have got our own lies to lead
And our lives to confess
Don't be surprised if I'm waiting still
After my friends have given up hope
And don't be alarmed if my favorite song
Is rain falling down on words you spoke
Here's a word for every day we've spent apart
And here's a line for every piece stolen from your heart
I made a card for every Valentine we've missed
And here's a song for every other girl I've kissed
Pocket the dreams of the sleepers you like, and hold tight
You can croon about your own dreams tonight
Check your books at the back so we can write even more
On the rise of the world as it falls to the floor
Squeeze into the memories of the foresight of youth, and be still
In the clandestine hope that we will
Make a convert of truth through some modern philosophy
Mission work fueled by our new slant on honesty
Don't waste all your prayers on the rain
We can remember the storm just the same
We'll recall being still here, the church and the hill, dear
And recount the drops all by name
Stare back from the mirror on the edge of the wild
Reflect on the civil stepchild
Move late as a final resort to the past
Ancestral comfort from a line of wild grass
Return to the edge of the town looking in, and see how
You're living with a new family now
Take care to keep two separate thoughts intertwined
I've faith that your dreams have their pocket to find
how far must i travel for you to miss me?
how many miles between us till you see
i won't be there when you wish that i would be?
how many days till i don't wish i could be?
what new constellations must enter my sky?
could inverted seasons make you ask why
you once let me stand up and tell you goodbye?
will the Southern Cross convince me of that lie?
to the end of the Earth, an ear to the ground
hoping i will recognize the faint sound
of you hoping that i would come back around
i hear the silence of the new life i've found
gone are the days of rain storms uncherished
shedding it's tears, each rain cloud has perished
committing to earth itself and it's soul
each drop, it seems, just a part of the whole
nervous but still as the land rushes up
pondering new homes from oceans to cups
these are the times we won't be forgetting
tongues point out where the sun must be setting
absorbing the ones we've beckoned come in
smile and a laugh, then we beckon again
finding exactly what life has to give
these are the moments we've survived to live
the scholar could tell why the sky flashes so
philosophers insist it's you flashing though
the faithful might say this is God's finger paint
of a shadow of heaven sent home by a saint
a blind man might say it's the same as all things
to deaf men it's simply the way nature sings
they all get together to argue their side
though no one's convinced, for all that they've tried
we'll sit here for hours just to take in the light
throughout it believing they're all a bit right
for knowing the answer might ruin the dance
between sun and moon in their skybound romance
mile after mile i'd drive to you
as my mirrors fade to black from blue
this last ditch, half hitch, moonlit drive
a dive to keep the flame alive
the midnight calls would leave your face
striped with tears, they'd beauty trace
we'd wonder where it all went wrong
and long to cure our favorite song
but we could not unfold the years
and we could not unroll these tears
the sorrow happiness would weave
can't believe you'd let me leave
so we'll quit before we start
take an empty, unbroken heart
we'll keep our could-have-been ideal
not feel for fear we'd have to heal
blue skies and sun rays and gold flying ships
for sweet thoughts and glances and come hither lips
it's a tax on my hands and a tax on my ink
transcribing for you all the pictures i think
the words and expressions dance in my mind
twisting and twirling in a dance undefined
striving to portray a sky the right blue
a verse that shows you the way i see you
blue skies and sun rays are all well and good
but they can't tell the tale as well as they should
it's too much to capture, but i'm going to try
a cloud at a time till my pens all run dry
the words and expressions dance in my mind
twisting and twirling in a dance undefined
striving to portray a sky the right blue
a verse that shows you the way i see you
i play your songs on my guitar every night
i even hum them to myself in the daytime
you know about a bajillion chords that i don't know
but i keep on practicing so i can say
trey taught me that one
i was at those alpine valley shows when you said goodbye
you closed the second one with a song called possum
i didn't think i would write a song about that later
but now i'm glad it rhymes with awesome, which it was
trey taught me that one
i play a lot of C's and D's and G's in my songs
sometimes i feel i gotta spice things up a bit
i rummage through my bag of tricks to find a C6/9
people are all like, "hey, that's pretty nice, man"
and i'm all like
trey taught me that one
i try to push away that moment that i dread
what more can i do
to keep you from your warm inviting bed
you leave me here to think about
what else i could have tried
to keep you five minutes longer
right here by my side
since you must leave me for your dreams
i only ask that they be
the sweetest dreams you've ever seen
may you drink the finest coffee
that this world ever knew
and may the waves slide on the beach
as they sing their song for you
at the risk of sounding insincere
here's another song i wrote for you
just to try to keep you here
i know you'll soon be leaving
no matter what i sing
but i take some consolation
knowing that you dream
since you must leave me for your dreams
i only ask that they be
the sweetest dreams you've ever seen
may the stars shine love upon you
as you watch the tide repeat
the waves only fall away
so they can rush back to your feet
you're so rad
girl, you're the bee's knees, babe
you're so bad
like early 90's hip hop bad
we shared a taxi after that skinnee j's show
you're so fresh
some kind of crazy stoopid fresh
i don't mean to say you're unintelligent, girl
it's stoopid with two o's kinda fresh
maybe we could grab a cheeseburger after the next dispatch show
let's go down to the skating arena and play some radmobile
i'm gonna go ahead and call that a date
not to say you have to kiss me, girl
radmobile is first base enough for me
radmobile!
radmobile!
maybe i'll invite my friend the bradmobile
his real name's bradley x. turner
he fancies a good game of radmobile
hey, that guy's alright
radmobile!
bradmobile!
alright.
i'm done chasing you around, and the writing is almost through
i'm left here wondering what else i could ever say to you
there's nothing left to lament, now you've left for good
and here i am standing in the same place that i stood
i wasn't what you wanted to see in the morning when you woke
i wasn't what you wanted to say when you spoke
i wasn't good enough to tell your friends about
you broke my heart in two, i had to pour it out
i'm running out of things to run from
i'm running out of time
i'm running out of ways
to say you should be mine
sit down in my hammock, and talk to me
kick off your new moccasins, that you got for free
tell old hank your story, your hopes and dreams
of somebody maybe owning, a football team
global domination is taking it's toll
but globex corporation will gain control
eat you some papaya, from my tree
we don't believe in walls around here, just old fashioned villainry
when you get to know me, i'm a man just like you
you see me on my fun runs, but if you only knew
global domination is taking it's toll
but globex corporation will gain control
mama always told me ,"build a better doomsday device.
the world will beat a path to your door, if you follow my advice"
global domination is taking it's toll
but globex corporation will gain control
I've learned my lines well, for now
You tell me that's all I can do
The spotlight beats down, center stage
And the curtain between me and you
Hangs to the floor, far behind
And reaches from wall to wall
As bright as that light, shines there
It's surprising you see me at all
I don't wanna be some kind of, understudy crush
Back here waitin' to lend a hand
Don't wanna be your little, fall back rush
Playin' second fiddle in the band
Don't wanna spend my time, till it's gone
Tucked away out of view
Don't wanna live my life, lookin' on
Waitin' just to play opposite you
I've seen your new guy, sorta strange
The way he reminds all your friends of me
Another tall boy with blue eyes, crazy 'bout you
It seems the likeness is easy to see
That's the type you're looking for, I heard you say
You wouldn't want any other kind
So you can just stop searching, for a boy just like me
I'm the most me I think you will find
spent the afternoon fishing for compliments i knew would never come
staring at the starting line of a race i'll never run
you're looking down at me from your mountain top, just another hill i won't climb
i try to talk myself into thinking things could be different in time
it's just another year in the same old place
another tear sliding down my face
i've cried too many times for you
and all these things i'll never do
i tried to let you see that i could be more than just a voice in the wind
and how much i could mean to you if ever you just let me begin
to care about you and never doubt you when you say you'll be there for me
i guess that's the masterpiece i'll never paint and you will never see
dull grey clouds spelled the fate of my days
as the too-thorough shadow encompassed malaise
the sight sans the light made those life-giving raindrops
bite like my plight as though trite little pain drops
till one day there sneaked out a light from the cloud
my lucky eyes seeked out your face from the crowd
the rain slowly split to your left and your right
and even the drops smiled to bows in your light
you floated your way as i struggled to walk
i opened my mouth as you started to talk
and in that one moment, i forgot all my fear
you spoke with the hope i had long yearned to hear
the dark clouds are parting, you stumbled to say
a message you needed no words to convey
with your hand in my hand, i see blue skies ahead
and your voice i hear clearly through true eyes instead
he's standing in the corner
as busy people shuffle by
he's hoping that he'll somehow
catch a busy eye
the couple folks who've seen him
quickly turned away
and just as quickly shuffled
to get on with their day
and now he's walkin' back home
it's a long and lonesome journey
with not a soul in sight
his melody is silence
it echoes through the night
his feet beat out the rhythm
his eyes sing the sad, sad song
the streetlights ask the question
what went so wrong?
and he's walkin' far away from home
just like every other place he's ever known
when you're out here on your own
home is just another place to be alone
when the sun has left the picture
and the locks are on the door
and the other people
don't bother us no more
you lay down next to me
with your hand inside my hand
and till the sun returns
i know exactly where i stand
when the people gather 'round
and the night returns to day
the door is open wide
and the world gets in the way
the more the people gather
the more i feel alone
we act like nothing happened
and your hands are all your own
you've got me caught in your limbo, baby
livin' in between up and down
you've got me stuck inside this constant maybe
trapped between the smile and the frown
i'd been growin' tired
of this steady wait and see
and it'd been too many nights
since you were next to me
then you layed down here tonight
put your hand inside my hand
and made me far too happy
to try to understand
you've got me caught in your limbo, baby
and i'll be waitin' for that old nightfall
lately i've been thinkin' maybe
this limbo's not so bad after all
make your love a rocket ship
and fly me to the moon
make your love a Valentine
and send it to me soon
make your love an angel
waiting in the snow
write it on a postcard
just let me know
paint it in a picture
and hang it on my wall
show me just a little sign
anything at all
make your love an arrow
and send it on your bow
send it to my waiting heart
just let me know if you want to be near me
let me know, some how and some way
let me know if you want to be near me
let me know if you want me to stay
and I'll stay with you till tomorrow
and I'll stay with you through the years
and I'll stay with you just as long as you
say that you want me here
i just want to make you smile
that's all i ever wanted to do
and maybe every once in a while
you could make me smile too
a walk into the wilderness
and a Rocky Mountain stargazing stone
a thousand miles from my backyard
but it's here with you that I feel most at home
there's beauty in the water here
and every little passing sound
you're my bright blue sky in daytime
and my favorite sweatshirt when the sun goes down
the mountain air is thin
but i'll catch my breath to say
it's not the mountain air
taking my breath away
i know that i don't love you
as much as i think i should
and i know that i don't love you
like i believe i could
and although
i cannot make that claim
i can tell you
just the same
tonight
i will love you better
before i close my eyes
and i will love you better
in the morning when i rise
to meet you
and i will love you better
with each passing afternoon
and i will love you better
as long as i have room
to love you more
cause i know that every day
until my days are through
i'll know just who i am
cause i love you
so i will love you more
with each and every day
and i will love you more
than i could ever say
or sing to you
and even though i can't
write that perfect tune
i can love you better
as long as i have room
to love you more
i could never tell you
i could never say
how much i love you
i'm gonna go on lovin' anyway
cause i know that every day
until my days are through
i'll know just who i am
cause i love you
well my friend
had this girl
never did her any wrong
well my friend
had this girl
didn't have her very long
well my friend
lost his girl
but she found where she belongs
he couldn't keep her
since the day i came along
she always wanted
to have a man
who could play guitar and sing
she always wanted
tall, dark and handsome
with hips just like the king
said she crossed the states
tryin' to elude the fates
findin' what the next town would bring
she'd never been to memphis
she'd heard it was nice in the spring
me and my girl
just last week
took a walk down to the tree
she reached to touch the sky
watching clouds roll by
she talked about how they were free
postcard in the mail today
read the back without delay
said it's from way down in tennessee
she wrote it's for the best
and one day that i'd agree
good thing i can play and sing
it's the only thing
keeping me afloat these days
it keeps me from sinkin' down
keeps me from wantin' to drown
in this broken hearted phase
all of this won't hurt no more
when i finally reach the shore
and i've made it through this haze
and though she might not hear my blues
i'm gonna play them anyways
well, i know that you never even knew
but there's a place in my heart for you
you're the girl who walks right on by
eyes outshinin' the noon sky
you would never stop just to ask my name
and i know exactly what's to blame
as i'm sure you can attest
i blend in with all the rest
i'd venture to say
i have no chance anyway
you look like a girl, to my dismay
who loves to dance the night away
it's not the i won't hit the floor
just that i never have before
it's not the kind of place i like to roam
so i guess i'll just head back home
i'd guess that you're not my sort
couldn't be, not with a skirt that short
and although you're not up to my class
you still have a nice smile
i think you must agree
you're just not good enough for me
and i was doing fine not caring
until you looked at me and caught me staring
it might just be the light but i'll
go on believing that it made you smile
and i will put that thousand words of view
in the place in my heart for you
cause i got a little place for you
got a little place for you
this one started out as lyrics, but i don't know now
restless drive
songs of the untamed heart, buzzin' to my radio
through the fields to cross the plain
and i'm lost in the silence of my domesticated soul
till my driven mind creates the restless drive
and i dive to my reckless abandon
but its in with the dust my car's been kickin' up
i see it settled on the plain behind
and the radio sings me to apathy on this god-forsaken drive
and i'm my destination, but i can't find the way
so i drive till the car dies, and walk till i do
stumble and catch myself to finally see the road
too late to drive, too far to walk
too old to care
but the songs keep buzzin', to radios unknown
and i see the cars flood the plain
kickin' up that dust again
it was only first grade, and on the first day of school
her new teacher looked down on the kids from his stool
and he asked which jobs the kids thought were cool
and what they would do when the world was their jewel
and she knew even then, raised mama no fool
so she waited for christmas and the presents and yule
and she asked for the gift, from then on her tool
the new guitar she ran home to play after school
she was an indie rock star since the day she was born
and she plays her guitar till the strings are all worn
in her room that the indie rock posters adorn
and she picks and she strums and she sings until morn
and the only things madder than the maddest of hatters
are the words that she writes with the ink that she splatters
till the notebooks are filled with the pages she tatters
and the indie rock fans hear her wonder what matters
in the houses of coffee where the topics for chatters
are the "poor-getting-poorer"s and the "fat-getting-fatter"s
and the talk of the formers breeds contempt for the latters
they say reform floods start with gentle rain patters
and she's an indie rock star, she doesn't need a big label
with her voice and guitar, she just knows she'll be able
to spread her words far, that's what she brings to the table
as the indie rock star, in her indie rock fable
and it's corporate america in need of reform
but for now, indie rockers will keep them all warm
so the fans praise the artists of their favorite art form
and the words in the notebook get passed dorm to dorm
till they've pattered enough to flood from the swarm
of indie rock raindrops that make up the storm
to bring the poor and the fat alike to the norm
and into the houses of coffee...to watch her perform
she was an indie rock star since the day she was born
and she plays her guitar till the strings are all worn
in her room that the indie rock posters adorn
and she picks and she strums and she sings until morn
temperance mine
aggression and anger, both survival, in time
turn instinct to thought in this temperance mine.
a beast of the heart, with my innate desire
to flare up, not stomp out, emotional fire.
a man of the mind, and by this saving grace,
is dawned the bright morning of my pensive race.
forever trained hunter will kill for his breath,
but what of societal disdain for death?
will ego or id rule a bear in trap's jaw?
is mankind so different with reason and law?
stalin was right if we've all come so far,
striving and working so everyone's par,
but come we have not past our personal glory.
"the fittest, i am, in survival: the story."
slowly and surely, compassion creeps in
but pitted with instinct, the thought can grow thin.
onward the battle, with its victor in time
and so, rests on a knife's blade this temperance mine.
no one knows tomorrow
no one knows tomorrow,
nor when we'll see the spring,
no one knows tomorrow,
nor what the tide may bring.
i don't pretend to see
the turns that life will take,
i cannot promise always,
not even for your sake.
life has just one habit,
it's always in its way.
we'll see about tomorrow,
and we'll take it day by day.
for now, we'll share tonight,
just you, me , and the moon.
better love you now,
the world might find us soon.
but, were morning
but, were morning, calm and soft,
a day of joy with hearts aloft,
but were dawn, with breaking sun,
and cherished moments every one,
but were morn and not the eve,
shining sun, no thought to leave,
but, she's gone and with her light,
leaves i love you and good night.
whence i came
both whence i came, and where i'll go,
a thousand things i'll never know.
a smile missed here, a frown and lo,
once old friend, now turned old foe.
i have to live, i have to grow,
among these things i'll never know.
some day i'll have the answers though,
of whence i came, and where i'll go.
promise me
promise me tomorrow, and promise me tonight.
promise me you'll hold me, until the day's first light.
promise me you'll love me, and by cupid's speedy dart,
i'll promise you my always, my body, soul and heart.
everyday in the life
my words well-practiced
the ease too, rehearsed
my odds all well-thought-out
the shyness dispersed
a sunrise breeds hope
and tomorrow, i say
a sunrise outshone
as her smiles look my way
till midday i wait
for an hour more suited
but the doubts creeping in
make ideals more diluted
and the doubts seeping in
have my hopes more refuted
and the doubts leaping in
leave foundations uprooted
my horizon seems distant
the hill a bit steep
and new thoughts smish-smashing
the old in a heap
confusion crish-crashing
and from calm, not a peep
my words are mish-mashing
the more thinker i deep!
my words deconstructed
the ease too, of course
the light isn't quite out
the shyness? in force
a sunset is hopeless
this man knows defeat
for there's only one outcome
of hasty retreat
the girl in my dreams
the girl in my dreams never had a face,
i held her, loved her, never knew her name.
we sat sometimes for days, always holding hands,
then one day i met you, now its not the same.
the girl in my dreams forever has a face,
i hold her, love her, thinking all the while,
its ecstacy to be here, holding hands with you.
i'd love to sit forever, melting in your smile.
country romance song
i never thought i'd say it,
but i must say i was wrong.
i never thought i'd like it,
this country romance song.
i thought that i was macho,
and i thought that i was strong,
but when you say you love me,
i love to sing along.
untitled
if born on your cloud,
a vast, peaceful morning,
i would not miss yesterday's sky,
but sail the deep ocean of your eyes.
i hope you dream
i hope you dream of sunshine,
a soft and golden hue
i hope you dreams of rainbows,
as dreamers often do
i hope you dream of moon light,
and basking in the glow
of mars and stars and nighttime,
and things you'll never know
i hope you dream of autumn,
with leaves the perfect shade
i hope your dreams come often,
so the colors never fade
i hope there's room in all these dreams,
for something that is new
so you can dream of me,
just like i've always dreamt of you
the story's told a thousand times for every day begun
of a love that takes your hopes and dreams and rolls them into one
and every true heart listenin', just like that risin' sun
hopes their love shall burn so high and bright before their day is done
and so it was the story came to me one dawning day
i looked up and saw a sun and she wiped my tears away
i knew right then i'd do my part to make her want to stay
so i hoped and prayed at dawn and dusk that i might find a way
sometimes her love light shines down so bright that i can't even see
but... if i must be blind with love, i'll stagger blissfully
and if she should see that same true light somewhere inside of me
then the blind shall lead and love the blind for our eternity