Folks call me a maverick

Guess I ain't too diplomatic

I just never been the kind to go along

Just avoidin' confrontation

For the sake of conformation

And I�ll admit I tend to sing a different song

But sometimes you just can't be afraid

To wear a different hat

If Columbus had complied

This old world might still be flat

Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained

Sometimes you've got to go against the grain

Well, I have been accused

Of makin' my own rules

There must be rebel blood

Just a-runnin' through my veins

But I ain't no hypocrite

What you see is what you get

And that's the only way I know

To play the game

Old Noah took much ridicule

For building his great ark

But after forty days and forty nights

He was lookin' pretty smart

Sometimes it's best to brave the wind and rain

By havin' strength to go against the grain

Well, there's more folks than a few

Who share my point of view

But they're worried

If they're gonna sink or swim

They'd like to buck the system

But the deck is tacked against 'em

And they're a little scared

To go out on a limb

But if you're gonna make a difference,

If you're gonna leave your mark.

You can't follow like a bunch of sheep

You got to listen to your heart

Go bustin' in like old John Wayne

Sometimes you got to go against the grain

Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained

Sometimes you've got to go against the grain

2. Rodeo

His eyes are cold and restless

His wounds have almost healed

And she'd give half of Texas

Just to change the way he feels

She knows his love's in Tulsa

And she knows he's gonna go

Well it ain't no woman flesh and blood

It's that damned old rodeo

Well it's bulls and blood

It's dust and mud

It's the roar of a Sunday crowd

It's the white in his knuckles

The gold in the buckle

He'll win the next go 'round

It's boots and chaps

It's cowboy hats

It's spurs and latigo

It's the ropes and the reins

And the joy and the pain

And they call the thing rodeo

She does her best to hold him

When his love comes to call

But his need for it controls him

And her back's against the wall

And it's So long girl I'll see you

When it's time for him to go

You know the woman wants her cowboy

Like he wants his rodeo

Well it's bulls and blood

It's dust and mud

It's the roar of a Sunday crowd

It's the white in his knuckles

The gold in the buckle

He'll win the next go 'round

It's boots and chaps

It's cowboy hats

It's spurs and latigo

It's the ropes and the reins

And the joy and the pain

And they call the thing rodeoIt'll drive a cowboy crazy

It'll drive the man insane

And he'll sell off everything he owns

Just to pay to play her game

And a broken home and some broken bones

Is all he'll have to show

For all the years that he spent chasin'

This dream they call rodeo

Well it's bulls and blood

It's dust and mud

It's the roar of a Sunday crowd

It's the white in his knuckles

The gold in the buckle

He'll win the next go 'round

It's boots and chaps

It's cowboy hats

It's spurs and latigo

It's the ropes and the reins

And the joy and the pain

And they call the thing rodeo

It's the broncs and the blood

It's the steers and the mud

And they call the thing rodeo

3. What She's Doing Now

Last time I saw her it was turnin' colder

But that was years ago

Last I heard she had moved to Boulder

But where she's now I don't know

But there's somethin' 'bout this time of year

That spins my head around

Takes me back makes me wonder

What she's doin' now

'Cause what she's doin' now is tearin' me apart

Fillin' up my mind and emptyin' my heart

I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows

And I wonder if she knows... what she's doin' now

Just for laughs I dialled her old number

But no one knew her name

Hung up the phone sat there and wondered

If she'd ever done the same

I took a walk in the evenin' wind

To clear my head somehow

But tonight I lie here thinkin'

What she doin' now

'Cause what she's doin' now is tearin' me apart

Fillin' up my mind and emptying my heart

I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows

And I wonder if she knows

What she's doin' now is tearin' me apart

Fillin' up my mind and emptying my heart

I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows

And I wonder if she knows... what she's doin' now

4. Burning Bridges

Yesterday she thanked me

For oilin' that front door

This morning when she wakes

She won't be thankful anymore

She'll never know how much I cared

Just that I couldn't stay

And I'll never know the reason

Why I always run away

Burning bridges one by one

What I'm doin' can't be undone

And I'm always hoping someday

I'm gonna stop this runnin' around

But every time the chance comes up

Another bridge goes down

Last night we talked of old times

Families and home towns

When wondered if we'd both agree

On where we'd settle down

And I told her that we'd cross that bridge

Whenever it arrived

Now through the flames I see her

Standin' on the other side

Burning bridges one by one

What I'm doin' can't be undone

And I'm always hoping someday

I'm gonna stop this runnin' around

But every time the chance comes up

Another bridge goes down

Like ashes on the water

I drift away in sorrow

Knowing that the day

My lesson's finally learned

I'll be standing at a river

Staring out across tomorrow

And the bridge I need to get there

Will be a bridge that I have burned

Burning bridges one by one

What I'm doin' can't be undone

And I'm always hoping someday

I'm gonna stop this runnin' around

But every time the chance comes up

Another bridge goes down

5. Which One Of Them

The girl at the bar, she bought me a beer

And she'd like to know if I'm new around here

And the gal that I danced with says she's all alone

Her friends have all left and she needs a ride home

Oh and there have been others who gave me the eye

But if they only knew they were wasting their time

'Cause there's only one lover I can give my heart to

But you didn't want it and you broke it in two

(So tell me) which one of them will you be tonight

Oh which one will hold me in your arms so tight

I've forgotten what's wrong, given up on what's right

(Tell me) which one of them will you be tonight

So I'll just smile and pretend and she'll never know

Who she's up against when she's holdin' me close

You're all that I want, girl, you're all that I need

And when I close my eyes, honey you're all I see

(So tell me) which one of them will you be tonight

Oh which one will hold me in your arms so tight

I've forgotten what's wrong, given up on what's right

(Tell me) which one of them will you be tonight

6. Papa Loved Mama

Papa drove a truck nearly all his life

You know it drove mama crazy being a trucker's wife

The part she couldn't handle was the being alone

I guess she needed more to hold than just a telephone

Papa called Mama each and every night

Just to ask her how she was and if us kids were alright

Mama would wait for that call to come in

When Daddy'd hang up she was gone again

Mama was a looker

Lord, how she shined

Papa was a good'n

But the jealous kind

Papa loved Mama

Mama loved men

Mama's in the graveyard

Papa's in the pen

Well it was bound to happen and one night it did

Papa came home and it was just us kids

He had a dozen roses and a bottle of wine

If he was lookin' to surprise us he was doin' fine

I heard him cry for Mama up and own the hall

Then I heard a bottle break against the bedroom wall

That old diesel engine made an eerie sound

When Papa fired it up and headed into town

Well the picture in the paper showed the scene real well

Papa's rig was buried in the local motel

The desk clerk said he saw it all real clear

He never hit the brakes and he was shifting gears

Mama was a looker

Lord, how she shined

Papa was a good'n

But the jealous kind

Papa loved Mama

Mama loved men

Mama's in the graveyard

Papa's in the pen

7. Shameless

Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you

I'll do anything you want me to

I'll do anything at all

And I'm standing here for all the world to see

Oh baby that's what's left of me

Don't have very far to fall

You know now I'm not a man who's ever been

Insecure about the world I've been livin' in

I don't break easy I have my pride

But if you need to be satisfied

I'm shameless, oh honey I don't have a prayer

Every time I see you standin' there

I go down upon my knees

And I'm changin' swore I'd never compromise

Oh but you convinced me otherwise

I'll do anything you please

You see in all my life I've never found

What I couldn't resist what I couldn't turn down

I could walk away from anyone I ever knew

But I can't walk away from you

I have never let anything have this much control over me

I work too hard to call my life my own

And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly

But it's your world now I can't refuse

I've never had so much to lose

Oh I'm shameless

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong

To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong

I've never lost anything I've ever missed

But I've never been in love like this

It's out of my hands

I'm shameless, I don't have the power now

I don't want it anyhow

So I got to let it go

8.Cold Shoulder

There's a fire burning bright

At our house tonight

Slow music playing

And soft candlelight

On her lips I keep tasting

The warm red wine

I'm there in her arms

But it's all in my mind

The snow is piled high on the highway tonight

I'm a ship lost at sea on this ocean of white

Eighteen wheels anchored somewhere out of Dover

I wish I could hold her

Instead of huggin' this old cold shoulder

This old highway

Is like a woman sometimes

She can be your best friend

But she's the real jealous kind

She's the lady that leads me

To the life I dream of

She's the mistress that keeps me

From the ones that I love

The snow is piled high on the highway tonight

I'm a ship lost at sea on this ocean of white

Eighteen wheels anchored somewhere out of Dover

I wish I could hold her

Instead of huggin' this old cold shoulder

God, I wish I could hold her

Instead of huggin' this old cold shoulder

9. We Bury The Hatchet

Hey, all the neighbors lights

Came on last night

Just like they do every time

We have a little fight

It's gettin' to the point

We can't get along

We're always fighting about things

That should be dead and gone.

Chorus

We bury the hatchet

But leave the handle stickin' out

We're always diggin' up things

We should forget about

When it comes to forgettin'

Baby, there ain't no doubt

We bury the hatchet

But leave the handle sticking out.

Well, I was kissing on Cindy

Hey, that I won't deny

But that's a long time ago

I let a dead dog lie

But if you want to cut deep

How 'bout you and ol' joe

I caught you down at the creek

Just ten years ago.

Repeat Chorus

Hey, we got enough on each other

To wage a full scale war

If we could ever remember

What we were fightin' for

Repeat Chorus

We bury the hatchet

But leave the handle stickin' out

10. In Lonesome Dove

She was a girl on a wagon train

Headed west across the plains

The train got lost in a summer storm

They couldn't move west and they couldn't go home

Then she saw him ridin' through the rain

He took charge of the wagons and he saved the train

And she looked down and her heart was gone

The train went west but she stayed on

In Lonesome Dove

A farmer's daughter with a gentle hand

A blooming rose in a bed of sand

She loved the man who wore a star

A Texas Ranger known near and far

So they got married and they had a child

But times were touch and the West was wild

So it was no surprise the day she learned

That her Texas man would not return

To Lonesome Dove

Back to back with the Rio Grande

A Christian woman in the devil's land

She learned the language and she learned to fight

But she never learned how to beat the lonely nights

In Lonesome Dove, Lonesome Dove

She watched her boy grow into a man

He had an angel's heart and the devil's hand

He wore his star for all to see

He was a Texas lawman legacy

The one day word blew into town

It seemed the men that shot his father down

Had robbed a bank in Cherico

The only thing 'tween them and Mexico

Was Lonesome Dove

The shadows stretched across the land

As the shots rang out down the Rio Grande

And when the smoke had finally cleared the street

The men lay at the ranger's feet

But legend tells to this very day

That shots were comin' from an alleyway

Though no one knows who held the gun

There ain't no doubt if you ask someone

In Lonesome Dove

Back to back with the Rio Grande

A Christian woman in the devil's land

She learned the language and she learned to fight

But she never learned how to beat the lonely nights

In Lonesome Dove, Lonesome Dove

11. The River

You know a dream is like a river

Ever changin' as it flows

And a dreamer's just a vessel

That must follow where it goes

Trying to learn from what's behind you

And never knowing what's in store

Makes each day a constant battle

Just to stay between the shores... and

I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Too many times we stand aside

And let the waters slip away

'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow

Has now become today

So don't you sit upon the shoreline

And say you're satisfied

Choose to chance the rapids

And dare to dance the tide... yes

I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

There's bound to be rough waters


	Album Tracks Against The Grain Rodeo What She's Doing Now Burning Bridges Which One Of Them Papa Loves Mama Shameless Cold Shoulder We Bury The Hatchet In Lonesome Dove The River