1. Desert Roadhouse Blues
Far beneath the purple mountain
Where the sagebrush grows so high
By a roadside in the desert
Neath the Arizona sky
Sits an old barn of a roadhouse
Red paint cracking in the sun
A cool dark place to get a beer
And let your horses run
Juke box in the corner
Sawdust on your shoes
Amplifiers ringing out
The desert roadhouse blues
Tall lean cowboys, lovely babes
Glide laughing across the floor
A heavyweight named Pedro’s
Checking id’s at the door
Commotion sets in motion
When the music starts to swirl
Two white hats in the corner
Start to fighting like a girl
Their high hopes and intentions
At least one of them must lose
And go home broke and lonely
With the desert roadhouse blues
When the singer plays the lovesick blues
He knows whereof he sings
He’s got a line of beauties
Forming up to have a fling
But commitment don’t come easy
To that music gypsy kind
As soon as one is out the door
He’s with the next in line
The only one he really loved
Said time had come to choose
Her and a righteous way of life
Or the desert roadhouse blues
I can see that place in my mind’s eye
From a thousand miles away
Remember what went down
As if it happened yesterday
The city swallowed up that place
And a mall went in next door
They went and modernized the building
And put in all new décor
From where I sit that old dance hall
Was a hard old place to lose
And just thinking of it leaves me here
With the desert roadhouse blues
2. Outside Looking In
When I hold you close
I feel you drifting far away
Your love grows a little colder to me every day
I seem to play your fool
More than your lover or your friend
And it’s like I’m on the outside looking in
I couldn’t see the depth of the pain
That I put you through
Or understand what little things
Could build up to
Till your anger fell like a hard rain
Driven on a bitter wind
Now it’s like I’m on the outside looking in
Chorus:
I’m on the outside looking for the missing key
That might unlock your heart and set love free
And trying to get back in your grace
And loving arms again
And it’s like I’m on the outside looking in
I could keep my peace with you
As we go on down the line
Act like all is well with me
And I feel just fine
But I’d be walking down a lonely road
That leads to no good end
And still be on the outside looking in
Chorus
3. Come to Me at Midnight
I’ve been living with a bad rap
Since Adam took a bite
And fell in shame from garden grace
Like day into the night
I surely earned my flatted third note
On the herald horn
So at your peril mock my words
Or speak my name with scorn
Fools who claim to know the way
Of mystery’s dark and light
Would come much closer to the mark
If they aimed with a child’s delight
The way they rattle on and on
Is such a travesty
As if marks with a crayon
Could reveal moonlight’s majesty
Chorus:
So come to me at midnight
When I hold my office hour
And right here in the silver light
You’ll feel my pulsing power
For some it’s proven fatal
For others, no return
But if you’d like to test your metal
Step right up and feel the burn
To leave here tried and tempered true
With secrets few can learn
Don’t bring your useless bags with you
Or for your crutches yearn
Chorus
4. O Moonlight Vision
The lesser light still rules the night
With silver creeping grace
Where hands of time play pantomime
With visions of your face
Shadows fill the distant hills
With sinuous designs
That sway and leap where reasons sleep
And mind regimes resign
Then to me you come so free
As a vision in a dream
Speaking words I’ve never heard
And can’t tell what they mean
I can’t make out what it’s about
But I feel your breath on me
As vagrant winds that stir again
Remind me that you’re free
Chorus:
Please stay with me a while
O moonlight vision
I’ll be lonesome come the light of day
Won’t you ease me through
This hard transition
I’m going through now
Since you went away
Blooms upon the rose of dawn
Chase shadows from the fields
The midnight band melts in the sand
And shadow armies yield
The ones we trust must turn to dust
And return to the sky
To walk in light across the night
But love will never die
Chorus
5. Solo Girl (in a Messed Up World)
Take me if you can or if you will,
Moonlight full upon you fit to kill,
Like a blossom on clear water
Shines a smiling devil’s daughter
In the rising hour of midnight’s autumn chill
Save me from the boredom and the strife
Of a goal conflicted, lone and ornery life
And lead me to the greatness
In all truthfulness and straightness
Of the core of what it means to be alive
Chorus:
You’re way on down the road of life
Successfully,
On your own, bright shining as a pearl,
But for the heart’s insistence you’re a solo girl,
Come on or keep your distance,
It’s a messed up world
Keep your business arms length
If you must,
It’s hard to know in this world
Who to trust,
The butcher or the baker
Or the smiling undertaker
Or the guy who rides beside you on the bus,
But it’s hard to go the distance all alone
When rolling thunder grumbles in your bones,
You dither and you dangle,
Think of almost any angle
To get you back a sweet love you have known
Chorus
6. Less Than Perfect Stranger
I knew you when we both were kids
But lost touch when I hit the skids
Now I’m back with a dirty shirt,
Survivor heart so badly hurt
I’m a bit evolved from what you knew before
Then here you come so radiant
High gifts to burn from heaven sent
Foxy cut and eyes so green
Looking like a desert queen
There’s a less than perfect stranger at your door
Whenever I would get real blue
I’d wonder what was up with you
And put my feelings in a song,
Sit and wonder just how long
Two patched up hearts could go their lonesome way
She shakes her head with a mournful nod
Saying, friend, so help me God
I’ve been down this road like you
To some bitter ends and broken through
To peace of mind and a better run of days
Chorus:
What’s a heart but truth to share
Upon the steps of love you dare
Won’t you let this dim light in
Your less than perfect stranger calls again
It’s kind of funny how things work
I turn a corner and up you perk
Smiling like a morning sun
You sparkle like a river run
Through canyons of my lonely heart and mind
I really don’t know what to say
To try to tell you it’s okay
To open up to someone new
After all the heartaches we’ve been through
There are so many treasures still to find
Chorus
7. Will Not Let This Darkness Bring Me Down
Vultures wheeling in wide circles overhead
Pins and needles stuck by devils in my head
Leeches sucking love and mercy from my heart
Treachery in silence tearing faith apart
Then underneath the radar comes a loaded bomb
Delivered with such deadly force and keen aplomb
That it left me knocked out, senseless
My head spinning around
But I will not let this darkness bring me down
No, I will not let this darkness bring me down
Chorus:
Well, you almost cracked my life up
When you made me drink the poison
From your bitter cup
And you almost knocked my lights out
When you brought me low
With a vicious blow and wicked shout
But the road goes on forever
This at length I’ve found
And I will not let this darkness bring me down
After a ray of sunshine dark clouds roll again
Making where I’m at look just like where I’ve been
The cupboard’s bare to satisfy my humble needs
The track’s a little slippery for blazing speed
I missed the hand you offered from the carousel
Lost my balance reaching till I almost fell
But I think that I can grab it on the next go round
But I will not let this darkness bring me down
No, I will not let this darkness bring me down
Chorus
8. Love You Every Morning
You’ve got a real good handle
On my burning heart,
You light me like a candle
Nearly every time you start
To tease me in a velvet voice,
I soon lose all control,
As if I really have no choice
But walk you through my soul
You’re a pretty piece of poison,
How you make the senses glow
Like moonfire, you’re the reason
Why my fever rises so
I went to see the gypsy,
She said you’ve got a Venus bite,
Don’t you love her every morning
And love her every night?
From morning’s sweet reflections
Through mysteries of the night,
You’re a very deep connection
And a keeper of the light
When I come to you this morning,
Won’tl you tell me it’s all right?
I love you every morning
And I love you every night
Every time I talk to you
I’m lost in some landslide,
I can’t tell where we’re going yet
But sure enjoy the ride
What’s not to like, I ask of you,
Hearts bending toward the light,
I love you every morning
And I love you every night
Morning is the sweetest time
Just lying in the light
Any way you come to me
Is going to be all right
When shadows dance like harlequins
Please come and hold me tight
I love you every morning
And I love you every night
9. 20 Years
Castles fall when tides sweep high and mighty
Weakened timbers crack when rattled lightly
Worn down hearts send beacons of distress
That translate give me shelter, I must rest
Twenty years could seem to some a lifetime
It always seemed to me such high and good times
Then one day I woke up and was gone
Behind left all I’d ever counted on
Chorus:
I traded in my pennywhistle pipedreams
For walks with mystic angels in the night
For any blessings lost into the slipstream
The road ahead looks more than just all right
Never mind recriminations endless
Leave behind the sad sack low and friendless
Keep time to the rhythm of your burning heart
Keep pace with the promise of a brand new start
What you left still simmers in the gumbo pan
What she cast aside will rise again in glory, man
What you did together grows in might and dividend
There’s no pain in having reached this painful end
Chorus
10. All I Really Need from You is You
You can relax whenever you’re with me
I’m seeing all I need to see
Even if you’re not a saint
I take you whole, without constraint
No need to put on airs now girl
It’s only you in all the world
There’s nothing I would have you do
Cause all I really need from you is you
You’re like a force no one controls
Queen of hearts and wounded souls
Receive my heart in mercy please
Hell, come and take me at your ease
There’s nothing you must prove to me
Forget the past, just let it be
Forget the mumbo jumbo too
Cause all I really need from you is you
You can slouch and talk in monkey talk
Exaggerate the way you walk
Expose your cause to public view
Cause all I really need from you is you
You can say whatever’s on your mind
To ears that won’t think you unkind
Rip the cloth of proper speech
Wreck the tall ships on the beach
Play the cat and scratch the mouse
Drive him from your desert house
Stick to what you’ve known like glue
Cause all I really need from you is you
You can be as brilliant as you are
Design the course and set the par
Do anything you want to do
Cause all I really need from you is you
11. Singing for the Freedom
I learned my ways from ruffians
Whose songs lit up the night
Who fired away with blazing guns
With bullets made of light
Their tongues were crude
But eloquently spoke the poison truth
And with it fed the discontent
And hunger of my youth
Chorus:
They were singing for the freedom
They were singing for the truth
Singing for the lonely souls
And lost and wasted youth
Singing of the days that
Blow away like shifting sand
And reaching for a feeling
Just beyond the tongue’s command
They opened up a new ground
We who followed settled well
With soulful songs of souls they found
Along the road to hell
Time’s washed away the road dust
Some of them have passed away
But lightning that they left us
Crackles in the wind today
Chorus |
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1. Fallout Of The Storm
I saw a flash of distant lightning
Through the mist of drizzling rain
Felt a wave of rolling thunder
Blowing like the wind of change
Looks like there's a storm a coming
Soon to hold us in its sway
Thunderclaps like giants drumming
Rains to wash our sins away
Dogs are barking, geese are flying
Words are freezing in my mouth
Got to get through, keep on trying
This whole world is heading south
Some lie calm and some come crying
Some sit paralyzed with doubt
Some in vanity denying
What their lives are all about
Chorus:
Lord have mercy, see us through
The long night till the morning comes
Then we'll see what falls or stands true
In the fallout of the storm
I felt the power of the cyclone
Moving like a speeding train
Saw the force of its destruction
Torn across the southern plain
Lost the keys to my own kingdom
Just these hands and heart remain
Spanish boots pulled from the bedroom
All the rest went down the drain
Right then when your dreams seem shattered
As if what you do must fail
The pieces of your fortune scattered
Pulled together still prevail
So if you lose all that you've gathered
Take the heart in this simple tale
Moving on is all that matters
Keep your footsteps on the trail
Chorus
2. You Will Always Be a Part of Me
One night I had a dream in which
I saw your face so clearly
It was as if you stood in front of me
To tell me everything's all right
And you love me dearly
Now come streaming back in memory
All the precious things and tender
Moments that I treasure
Like you will alwaqys be a part of me
Chorus:
I'm always thinking of you now
Whereever you may be
And you will always be a part of me
You were like the desert sunset
Blazing in the sky
As perfectly yourself as you could be
But a burst of light soon turns to shadow
Fades before your eyes
And you will always be a part of me
The consolation that I take now
Since you took that long ride
A comfort to my soul in time of need
If I no longer have you here
At least you're inside
And you will always be a part of me
Chorus
3. Nothin' Don't Add Up to Much
I cut across your lines of vision
Tiptoe through your streaks of doubt
Wait out your endless or do without
Violate the usual dogma
Penetrate the shadow realm
Taste a smoldering aroma
Climb aboard to take the helm
Climb aboard to take the helm
Chorus:
Something's weighing on me heavy
Hand me down my broken crutch
Count to five and plug the levy
Nothin' don't add up to much
No, nothin' don't add upto much
I cast aside all thought of glory
Raise the flag of freedoms lost
Tell a sad, beguiling story
Count the overwhelming cost
Count the overwhelming cost
Clash or not as fate determines
Cas in my last chips to go
Laugh at jokes, recite a sermon
Tell you all there to know
Tell you all there to know
Chorus
4. Spanish Cowboys
Spanish cowboys toss the lasso high
And reel them in as clouds go rolling by
With a motion smooth and flowing
Make it seem so easy going
It's as if they didn't even have to try
Chorus:
Ooh, ooh, Spanish cowboys
Spanish cowboys ride with silver spurs
Go raring back too skillfully for words
I never saw a rider
Who came close to this outsider
When it came to sitting cool and self-assured
Chorus
Spanish cowboys treat the ladies right
Extend with graceful hand their heart's delight
When they gaze into their eyes
As the moon begins to rise
You might as well be turning out the light
Chorus
Bridge:
They always seem to make it look so easy
Never seem them break a sweat or lose their cool
With a polished manner elegant and breezy
Beneath the moon shining like a jewel
Chorus
Spanish cowboys ride on like the wind
Right on through your life and out again
With a tip of the sombrero
This soulful caballero
Will soon be on his way around the bend
Chorus
5. Leave Me My Illusions
The things I learned when I was young
I learned them very well
They got me down the road this far
But these days it's hard to tell
If I had it wrong or right
To see the world so black and white
And put up such an awful fight
These days it's hard to tell
Beneath the glory of the sky
The word is carved in stone
Any question, day or night
Comes down to this alone
We as the chosen, faithful ones
Surely must stick by our guns
Teach our daughters and our sons
To pass it to their own
Chorus:
Won't you leave me please with my illusions
Don't make these fine sand castles crumble down
Without them I'd be lost out in confusion
To wrestle with a world turned upside down
Seems like the gentle rains of grace
Don't fall here much no more
The rock of ages, worn to sand
Comes blowing through the door
Somehow we got in too deep
Our better judgement fast asleep
Now we wait for time to sweep
The fallout off the floor
Chorus
6. The Voice within You
May you fall in with a cordial crowd
That shares your high ideals
And honesty and courage
Be the ground beneath your wheels
May the path to freedom
Take you where you want to go
Your senses and your reason
Tell you what you need to know
Chorus (2 verses):
May the gifts you have within you
Shine on in the light
And the voice you hear inside you
Always steer you right
May all your accomplishments
Be met with just acclaim
And the things that you do naturally
Bring honor to your name
May truth and beauty mark your way
And be your stock in trade
And may your family prosper
In a sweet home you have made
May principle and fairness
Be your judgement's cornerstone
And good cheer and humor dance
Whereever you may roam
Chorus
7. The Magic Mandolin
There's much I know deep in my blood
I can't right well explain
Like moonlight riding on the flood
That's coursing through my veins
What tongue can't tell and eyes can't see
Comes dancing on the wind
I hear it playing high and free,
The magic mandolin
There's more that moves beneath the sky
Than we shall see revealed
And more afoot than meets the eye
Where reasons lie concealed
It's way beyond my reach to tell,
I won't try to pretend
I ever understood it well
The magic mandolin
Chorus:
No words of explanation
From beginning to the end
Ring truer than the melody
Of the magic mandolin
I don't know where it comes from
If not from the source of all,
Or could be a fallen angel's strum
Comes ringing off the wall
If it is, I can't resist
Its sweet seduction sweeping in
Like a prelude to a lover's kiss
The magic mandolin
I follow where it leads to
Like a pilgrim in a trance
And mingle in the retinue
Of revelers at the dance
Where mystery runs deeper
Than my mind can comprehend
In the rhythms of the keeper
Of the magic mandolin
Chorus
8. Politics
Why is it when people get a little taste of privilege
They close the door on everybody else
And then, when as insiders in the private halls of power,
Commandeer the distribution of wealth
They cloak themselves in virtue
As if their greed were meant to serve you
But hold on friends, it is not really thus
With motives as self-serving
As their tactics are unnerving
It's all about manipulating us
Why is it to hear them talk
Sounds like they wrote the bible
While newspapers make a living off their crimes
And when they're called to answer
Swear by God they didn't do it
The other party, up in arms,
Just swears they're lying
Ads vilify and pander
Stopping nothing short of slander
Labeling the opposition as a rat
This blood sport we call politics
Is razor blades and dirty tricks
What kind of statesman wants to live like that?
It's a complicated world and we'd all like some simple answers
That make it all make sense in simple terms
But when you strip away too many facts to tell your story
The truth goes out the window, that's for sure
Spinmeisters feed us slogans
To play on our emotions
And spare us from the need to think it through
But once elected in their glory
The remainder of the story
Too often is, my friend, the joke's on you
9. Spirit In The wind
I hope you met your loved ones and the master
Like we talked about when you were called away
And I hope the gates of heaven opened wide
To welcome you and speed you on your way
Things are pretty much the same as when you left us
But for the empty place where you would have been
And when the evening whispers high and lonesome
I hear you like a spirit in the wind
I hope that all the life and love within you
Passed with you on the trail you walked alone
And that they lift you high as any angel
Has any expectation to have flown
Do you look from up above down on us
Or walk the road beside us like a friend
I swear that the shadows fall around us
I hear you like a spirit in the wind
Hard as I try I can't make the connection
To whatever lies beyond these mortal bounds
I must be patient to receive some answers
Till this old world has turned a few more rounds
I'll see you in the eyes of my children
Till time comes for my earthly cares to end
Then perhaps you'll be my guide in heaven
And we'll be kindred spirits in the wind
10. In My Time Of Doubt
In my time of doubt and sorrow
Let me see the light
That shines above the darkened clouds
Just beyond my sight
And let me know the path to walk
To be who I must be
Lift the veil of blindness
From my eyes and let me see
Chorus:
Shine your healing light upon my soul
Till every touch of shadow disappears
Ease the burden of my worried mind
Release me from the bondage of my fears
Bridge:
Cool the fires of anger
When they burn hot in me
The wrongful things I can't control
Please whisper let them be
Let me in my loneliness
Understand I'm not alone
And when I'm underneath the pain
Remind me that I've grown
Enough to see it through with grace
With a smile upon my face
To rise above my smaller self
And get back in the race
Chorus
11. Vancouver in the Rain
I’ve been around as much as most,
Most everywhere from coast to coast,
Drunk to inspiration’s toast
And fanned the flame of fury’s ghost,
Known ecstasy and pain;
But nowhere have I ever been
Where I could breathe as free as when
There far from home and next of kin
I tucked my scarf against the wind
And went walking through Vancouver in the rain
The first time fate had led me there;
It could have been most anywhere;
A group of friends with thoughts to share
A bed and bread and wine to spare
Sat waiting for my train;
I stepped down in the mist and chill
With time and blues and thirst to kill,
Got caught up on the news until
They led me up to old Granville,
Out walking through Vancouver in the rain
Bridge:
Brushing past a thousand strangers in the street,
Splashing syncopated rhythm with my feet
The whisper of the wind, blowing high and sweet,
Echoes through the cavern of my brain;
No destination in my mind
Agenda, calls, or hard deadline
Just out to see what I can find,
Walking through Vancouver in the rain
Sometimes I sit and reminisce
About the taste of fortune’s kiss,
Chances taken, fateful twists,
Connections made and dances missed
That led me to that train
Who knows where we go from here,
What waves of woe may soon rise near,
Or wild new wonders will appear
But this one thing at least is clear,
We’re walking through Vancouver in the rain |
