1. |
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So hard to tell when you're through with me
you keep making your way back home
spots where you fall the only ones you see
when you find yourself alone
I look to you when my eyes grow bleary
my head gets weary
from words astray
frozen sheets and lame excuses
when there's no proof of
the night's decay
I don't want to be a fool for you again
wanna be a fool for you again
Outside it's cold...the wind united
it's blowing us to and fro
we're growing old like a landscape blighted
whispering "even though..."
Rivers rise and the coal keeps burning
young kids are learning to see things through
easy lies and cruel indifference
like an old barbed wire fence
torn in two
I don't want to be a fool for you again
wanna be a fool for you again
I look to you when my eyes grow bleary
my head gets weary
from words astray
frozen sheets and lame excuses
when there's no proof of
the night's decay
I don't want to be a fool for you again
wanna be a fool for you again
|
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2. |
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To burn your heart in effigy
that's what I'd like to do
and warm my hands besides all...
the embers still untrue
abandoning the roof for sky
and your silver for gold
clock in my back pocket
to keep from getting old
that's what I should do
in lieu of you
Maybe I'll be like a train
and just follow these tracks
that lay down before me
with no thoughts of getting back
the rhythm of the trestles
the whistle in the night
keeping everybody guessing
if things will turn out right
that's what I should do
in lieu of you
In lieu of you
In lieu of you
No more worries about tomorrow
or waking up alone
justifying blue sky
on the telephone
gonna get myself a bottle
drink myself dry
wake up sick and laughing
to no woman no cry
that's what I should do
in lieu of you
In lieu of you
In lieu of you
|
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3. |
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What is this place
where have you taken me
don't smell what I like
don't see what I see
give me my coat
don't forget my hat
there's a chill in the air
have to deal with that
You can tie me to a flatback chair
lock me in a jail
take away my eyes
and the sailboat's sail
steal my memories
lose me when I roam
but nothing can compare
to leaving home
Get me on a bus
get me on a plane
put me in your car
or we can hop a train
dance the way we used to
fumbling in the dark
maybe they won't find us
the lonely on their marks
You can tie me to a flatback chair
lock me in a jail
take away my eyes
and the sailboat's sail
steal my memories
lose me when I roam
but nothing can compare
to leaving home
A man grows younger
and simpler with the time
I see what's yours
but I want what's mine
familiar faces and
a warm feather bed
arms all around me
and nothing in my head
Streets that I grew up on
voices that I know
that yesterday's were better
is what they show
newspapers on the backporch
and pictures on the wall
hands to pick me up
on the day I learn to fall
|
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4. |
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She cries in the kitchen
lives with her mother
does all her living
through that old console screen
Mom is forgetting
calling her Suzie
even though they named her
Rosalee
chorus:
12 O'clock whistle whines
sounds different all the time
clothes hanging on the line
with the rain closing in
life's lead behind closed doors
young lovers pace the floor
always wanting more
than the places they've been
Not sure how it happened
years come creeping
like the color fading
from a radio flyer
promises made
promises broken
like rollin' and tumblin'
from an old circus wire
chorus
Lies in the bedroom
frames on the mantle
the faces can't know
what the creases may tell
love letters buried
like secrets carried
with the dawn ringing
from a rusty church bell
chorus
|
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5. |
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The tents have all been packed up
with the carny's and the con
gone to find another town
to pull one over on
home might be a state of mind
but a man still needs a bed
to share a human touch
and the dreams left in his head
So I'm leaving what I used to be
and all the things I know
the sins and sinners standing still
to put on one more show
maybe she got the best of me
and the rest of me can't tell
but what if she remembers
and doesn't take it well
But that's just nerves talking
coming up from the ground
ready to take over
when the circus comes to town
So yea I've made some mistakes
and did some hurting to
I sure done a lot of things
that I wasn't supposed to do
but still when I make up my mind
no one can turn me 'round
from scratching out a new roof
from this dirty piece of ground
Blow all of my money baby
in the drunk tank to drown
but what the hell is money for
when the circus comes to town
bridge
Without a net they're flying baby
tip of the big top
long gone lovers lying baby
they ain't ever gonna drop
The tents have all been packed up
with the carny's and the con
gone to find another town
to pull one over on
home might be a state of mine
but a man still needs a bed
to share a human touch
and the dreams left in his head
But that's just nerves talking
coming up from the ground
ready to take over
when the circus comes to town
|
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6. |
Lorne Clarke - The Show
05:15
|
|||
Can't lift my arm to comb my hair
just one more game to get back up there
fastball dragging some at 85
slept in ice the entire 12 hour drive
we come overnight from Omaha
with that hanging curve sticking in my craw
out in front he ripped it down the line
and for me it was miller time
The kids they all call me old man
I try to help 'em when I can
sometimes I catch 'em when they stare
they're thinking what the hell were you doing up there?
about the show this much is clear
it's better up there than it is down here
went into Wrigley and I mowed 'em down
and I was the talk of Houston town
just one more day in the show
to savor when I go
if you let me grow old I'll do it gracefully
paint the corners black just wait and see
down here time moves so slow
just one more day in the show
I could make that radar gun dance
going every 4th day without a backward glance
6 and 2 by the end of May
everyone lining up to hear what I had to say
in Philly I landed funny off the mound
that's where I heard the popping sound
now it was cortisone and daily mass
with a fastball that couldn't break glass
Lost 7 of 9 throwing mostly junk
mopped up a few when my sinker sunk
then they sent me down hoping for the best
5 years on I still can't rest
I go Thursday night in Abeliene
with a lot of phone calls in between
my little girl says daddy when you coming home
I tell her sweetheart I just don't know
just one more day in the show
to savor when I go
if you let me grow old I'll do it gracefully
paint the corners black just wait and see
down here time moves so slow
just one more day in the show
|
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7. |
Neil Luckett - MIA
02:51
|
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She went to the cupboard but the cupboard was bare
so she went and cut off her long flowing hair
she laid down between the ground and the sky
looked straight ahead and never asked why
expected little and received even less
her mini-skirt came from cutting her dress
frayed at the edges and torn at the seams
desperation leads to extremes
Discarded bottles a railroad track
fighting that monkey on her back
the conductor smiles then he shakes his head
'cause she left her ticket back under the bed
back where her man's boots used to be
caked with the sod of another shrill plea
she rolled towards him one night and instead hit the floor
and now she forgets what she needed him for
But what does it matter when you get down to it
a place to lay down, and a soft spot to sit
she tells herself this, then she cries like a child
who's been left in the dark, scorned and reviled
So take this all down, so the record is clear
the coast might be too...but it may not be near
love's a sharp backhand across the mouth
as it rolls on away...to points due south
Is she just a collection of assorted loose parts
out of warranty....out of broken hearts
a beat down jalopy...just another used car
always destined to not get very far
this world's a place that can swallow you whole
scorned for the capture...not for what you stole
tell me what's she supposed to say
when she gets the news....that he's MIA
Is she just a collection of assorted loose parts
out of warranty....out of broken hearts
a beat down jalopy...just another used car
always destined to not get very far
this world's a place that can swallow you whole
scorned for the capture...not for what you stole
tell me what's she supposed to say
when she gets the news....that he's MIA
|
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8. |
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I wish I'd seen Mickey Mantle
but I was born too late
in moving pictures I'd see him limp
to either side of the plate
now I'm a child of colors
but Mickey he was all black and white
I wish there was something that I could do
to make everything alright
I wish I was....
I wish that we could share a night
to open and close the bar
prayers and genuflections
that never go too far
my father would be young again
the fear gone from his eyes
he could drag us around the city
with no thought of goodbyes
I wish I was...
What do you want
what do you see
when you look at yourself
and you find me
I've got you deep down inside
It's all we can do
to run and hide
Just like Mickey did...
I'd give Mickey him my liver
I'd give Mickey my knees
if he'd just take me back
and make the time freeze
back to the top of the world
back to the end of the line
we'd soak it in together
just one more time
I wish I was...
Just like Mickey did...
Forever as a kid
tears of a clown
from letting others down
I wish I was....
What do you want
what do you see
when you look at yourself
and you find me
I've got you deep down inside
It's all we can do
to run and hide
Just like Mickey did…
|
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9. |
||||
Don't go away don't leave me here
with all your ghosts who reappear
all dressed to kill with bedsheet eyes
or whispering cold goodbyes
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Get up so fast we all slow
only to find nowhere to go
the neon lights of corner bars
littered backseats of stolen cars
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
I still got love to give
tied to the memories I re-live
down in the hole
with the sinners who never stole
with the sinners who never stole
from me
Oh the stories we could tell
right now I'm high and don't feel well
got the shivers...got the shakes
I got the gives you got the takes
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
I still got love to give
tied to the memories I re-live
down in the hole
with the sinners who never stole
with the sinners who never stole
from me
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
Don't kill my heart
|
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10. |
||||
Mamma she found Jesus
Daddy he found God
with blood at the table
outsiders got the nod
Jesus always short of money
God 140 proof
nothing worse than growin' up
under a stranger's roof
I think I'm still me
I think I'm still me
trying hard to make you see
I think I'm still me
Preachers and empty bottles
overdrawn and overheard
bill collectors and the backhands
all shaken and stirred
self loathing self inflicted
battle or a truce
another promise made
tearing itself loose
I think I'm still me
I think I'm still me
trying hard to make you see
I think I'm still me
Some get the wrong idea
others not at all
most just look through me
passing in the hall
another stranger with no name
face just blending in
trying to learn the difference
between sinners and sin
I think I'm still me
I think I'm still me
trying hard to make you see
I think I'm still me
|
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11. |
||||
It's getting late
even the drunks have gone home
ran out of backstreets
and alleys to roam
the whores have all
bedded down for the night
while the cops catch their breath
and they turn out the lights
Now I'm pacing the floor
with an old picture frame
cursing out loud
while whispering your name
booze and pills
they take too long
so on this guitar
I'll write you a song
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
I wanna dump it all
on the side of the road
wanna strike a match
and watch it explode
suck the pain
out of the air
feel the breeze
blow back your hair
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
Moon and the tide
what if they lost their way
and could no longer hear
what the other might say
what if I shake
in the middle of the night
would you cool my brow
would you hold me tight
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
What if I showed you
the end of the world
with mouths hung open
and flags unfurled
would you believe in love
just one last time
be a fool from me
and take what's mine
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
Can you hide me
from these sad goodbyes
can you hide me
from the nights that make me cry
|
||||
12. |
Josh Pratt - Auctioneer
03:01
|
|||
13. |
Van Wagner - Bridges
03:39
|
|||
I remember that night it's stuck in my head
rolled up in a flag they thought I was dead
cop kicked me awake said "move along son"
with pepper spray and the butt of a gun
I find a bridge in every town
leads me to water so I can drown
Wind chill had frozen the words in my mouth
ain't got enough money to make it south
even I forget my time in the war
trying to stay fed...find a spot on the floor
I find a bridge in every town
leads me to water so I can drown
Bridges up...they don't come down
they tell no secrets....they're honor bound...that way
I read all about them names on the wall
one night I carved mine in a bathroom stall
boots on the ground....head in the sand
oh there I was...here I am
there I was here I am
Got a few more pills some cheap red wine
a hacking cough with me all the time
picture of my girls tattoed on my chest
another life sentence just like the rest
I find a bridge in every town
leads me to water so I can drown
Bridges up...they don't come down
they tell no secrets....they're honor bound...that way
|
||||
14. |
||||
I heard his whistling fading away like sleep into dreams
instead of ‘I Love You’ he’d say ‘You know what I mean’
I’d watch the sun he’d rarely see put red on the cheeks of a child
disappear like his white skin with eyes shining wild
chorus:
I’m in love with a miner boy
I’m in love with a miner boy
I’m in love with a miner boy
I’m in love with a miner boy
Everyday that lonesome whistle blows
everyday this helpless feeling grows
I do dead work all day long and on Sunday bow my head
I know the Lord’s to busy for me so I pray for the coal instead
Breaker roar might wake up some but I sleep with eyes on the door
and love will only lay me down when I hear boots on the floor
(chorus)
|
||||
15. |
Tom Flannery - Mud Run
03:57
|
|||
I don't want to remember
the things that I saw there
but when I close my eyes
I still smell her singed hair
she said "stay with me sir..
just until I die...
promise you'll hold your lover close
in the bed where you lie.."
That small band playing
"Nearer My God to Thee"
but even the Lord missed the signal
and the world fell in on me
Did you ever see a scalding
did you ever hear a fire
did you ever sense a train
or live through a funeral pyre
At Mud Run...I never heard of it before
twisted track was my ceiling
the roof was my floor
at Mud Run
it was something like a war
it was something like a war
It's old bones I've become
a ghost trapped in time
tried to drive it away
by drinking away what's mine
now I got these tremors
like rumblin' down a track
passing the point of no return
and always looking back
At Mud Run...I never heard of it before
twisted track was my ceiling
the roof was my floor
at Mud Run
it was something like a war
it was something like a war
|
Tom Flannery Scranton, Pennsylvania
"One of the most gifted songwriters to emerge at the turn of the century"
-- The All Music Guide
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