The road was singin’
I was hummin’ along
Up an’ down, lost then found
A lot of verses in that song
Had a muse I had to follow
It kept runnin’, I kept chasin’
Where it ends, I don’t really know

I might beg an’ I might borrow
But I’ll keep a straight an’ narrow
An’ I’ll be back
Some far away tomorrow

Prosperity might come an’ go
In the spotlight or maybe layin’ low
I’ve taken chances, rolled the dice but
Rarely done the same thing twice
I’ve seen troubles, I’ve seen pain
Then sunshine after all that rain
And I suppose
I’d do it all again

I might beg an’ I might borrow
But I’ll keep a straight an’ narrow
An’ I’ll be back
Some far away tomorrow

I never lost my love for you, my dear
Back an’ forth always shiftin’ gears
Never thought ‘bout where I was
Until it’s time for leavin’
Seems nothin’ else
ever seemed so clear

I might beg an’ I might borrow
But I’ll keep a straight an’ narrow
An’ I’ll be back
Some far away tomorrow

A simple man
With a simple plan
Leaving town
As quick as he can
Gonna blow this pop stand
Find something real
Catch a fast train
To Nirgendwo
Pack up the suitcase
Pay as you go
Living like this
Was never part of the deal

Somewhere conversations
Took a turn for the worse
They’re aloof, intolerant
And sanctimonious
But with everybody shouting
Different tunes
You might wanna kick it down a notch
Too much confliction
Too much grief
Too much cancelation
Don’t know what to believe
Just getting too deep here
Gotta save the watch

Don’t know
Where paradise lies
A setting sun
A bright sunrise or
If it even exists
In this day and time
A simple man
Looking for peace
Maybe head west
Maybe head east
Maybe just wander from
Ridiculous to sublime

A simple man
With a simple plan
A purpose
None other than
Picking up pieces
Of what he thinks is good
Got nothing to say
‘bout all this mess
Doing his best
To stay out of the way
A simple man
Simply misunderstood

The dogs were barkin’
The children cryin’
Walkin’ through the back door
I can smell the chicken fryin’
(might have) ran a couple red lights
Along the way
But it’s good to be home
My favorite part of the day

I don’t mind workin’
I have workin’ in my blood
My clothes get pretty dirty
And my boots are caked with mud
But I would not trade
For all the money on earth
‘cause I’m livin’ in heaven
I can’t tell you what that’s worth

We might all have different views
In this vast and varied land
Different cultures, different attitudes
I’m doin’ the best I can
Sometimes I get all riled up
I gotta take stand
But I have to admit at the end of the day
Life is grand

There are flowers in the garden
Like you wouldn’t believe
Deer out in the backyard
Wander in through the trees
Birds change with the seasons
I can hear them sing
Sittin’ with my sweetheart
On the front porch swing

Friends come by
When they’ve got some time to kill
I’ll fix a couple burgers
On the backyard grill
No, I wouldn’t change a thing
I’m a fortunate man
Could not have planned it any better
(listen to me) life is grand

We might all have different views
In this vast and varied land
Different cultures, different attitudes
I’m doin’ the best I can
Sometimes I get all riled up
I gotta take stand
But I have to admit at the end of the day
Life is grand

Out of school
When just sixteen
Outlaw child
Drama queen
Tossed by the angels
Dressed in black
Like an out of town thug
They don’t want back
Mad Maddie
Devil in a gray lace gown

Big plans
When just a kid
Grew up doing
What her daddy did
She don’t play favorites
She won’t back down
Mad Maddie
Devil in a gray lace gown

Charmed her way
To the mountaintop
Knocking of rivals
Paying off cops
Numbers and rackets
And bootleg gin
Painting the town an’
Living in sin
Mad Maddie
Devil in a gray lace gown

Had big plans
When just a kid
Grew up doing
What her daddy did
She won’t play favorites
She won’t back down
Mad Maddie
Devil in a gray lace gown

Big, big plans
But just a kid
Grew up doing
What the ol’ man did
Don’t play favorites
Won’t back down
Mad Maddie
Devil in a gray lace gown

My Betty Lou was sleepin’ when I knocked upon her door
She let me in still rubbin’ on her eyes
I said, no need to make the coffee, just rustle on some clothes
An’ come with me, we’re goin’ for a ride

Breezin’ down the highway
In my open Wrangler Jeep
Bouncin’ through the backwoods
We can barely keep our seats
We burst into an open field
Our destination now revealed it’s
Bluegrass Bobby’s Bootleg Bawl Retreat

Sammy he was sittin’ in his fav’rite easy chair
Peaceful relaxation in the air
I said, put yer boots on, son, we’re gonna have some fun
Come with me, we’re goin’ for a ride

Breezin’ down the highway
In my open Wrangler Jeep
Bouncin’ through the backwoods
We can barely keep our seats
We burst into an open field
Our destination now revealed
Bluegrass Bobby’s Bootleg Bawl Retreat

Elvira and her sisters, they were headed off to church
I caught ‘em as they pulled into the drive
I said, my ladies, look at you!
You look much too nice to go inside
Come with me, we’re goin’ for a ride

Breezin’ down the highway
In my open Wrangler Jeep
Bouncin’ through the backwoods
We can barely keep our seats
We burst into an open field
Our destination now revealed
Bluegrass Bobby’s Bootleg Bawl Retreat

gone so long
without a trace
everything I had is gone
but this loathsome face
is still with me
spent a good many years
in the belly of a whale
‘cause where I’ve been
off the top of my head
I don’t seem to recall
I came back to see if anything
was worth coming back for
with my four-legged friend but
we don’t see nothing
we ain’t seen before
there’s nothing here anymore

everything and everybody
are much older now
how they all got along
in this desolate town
I’ll just never know
I’ll never know
there’s nothing here anymore

left this town
when the factories closed down
to find my own way
had to grow up
had to see for myself
what was out there
a lot of the earth passed under my feet
before I returned to my roots
before I learned the harshest truth
in the town where I was born
nobody cares anymore

I was sittin’ on the back porch
The day was about to start
Sun was coming up, hittin’ on the treetops
You were tuggin’ on to my heart

Give me something for my time
I’m looking for some peace of mind
You can make me crazy – you are so unkind
You are a mountain I can’t climb

No sense made of what I do or say
I put myself out on a limb
I smoked a cigarette, finished my coffee thinkin’
“try to begin again”

I went inside where it was cool and dry
I saw you called me on the phone
But you left no message, left no text
Y’know, you wouldn’t even toss me a bone

Give me something for my time
I’m looking for some peace of mind
You can make me crazy – you are so unkind
You are a mountain I can’t climb

I remembered how we parted
You put your doughnut in my tea
You walked away from the table that day
And you shouted back at me

You said,
Give me something for my time
I’m looking for some peace of mind
You can make me crazy – you are so unkind
You are a mountain I can’t climb

I remembered how we parted
You put your doughnut in my tea
You walked away from the table that day
And you shouted back at me

You said,
Give me something for my time
I’m looking for some peace of mind
You can make me crazy – you are so unkind
You are a mountain I can’t climb

I gotta stop what I’m doin’
I can’t go on
I have concertina wrapped around my axle
an’ it’s slowin’ me down
I won’t be joining the fray
I ain’t ready for a fight
my engine’s overheated so
I’m gonna have to sit this one out

Darlin’, I’ve worked on this
every night and day
I really don’t know what to say
but I’m gonna try anyway
y’see, this aeolian wind
is carvin’ up my heart
I’m not made for this kind of weather
I’m gonna have to sit this one out

I’ll just have to sit this one out
I need a hush
I’ll just have to sit this one out
I need a hush

I think I might have sheared a sprocket
‘cause I’m runnin’ in place
I’m out in the open, I’m exposed
an’ I don’t feel safe
I’m caught in a recurring dream
nothin’ really is what it seems
I’m about to go crazy so
I’m gonna have to sit this one out

I try to retrace my route
how I got to this place
I don’t know where I went wrong but
I’m gonna have to sit this one out

My brother picked me up at the Greyhound station
I was passing through on a fool’s vacation
Playin’ softball in the park, smokin’ drinkin’ after dark
Strippin’ down to our au naturel couture
Then you an’ I made love on his livin’ room floor

Where did you go? I never caught your name
It might have been a one-night stand
But I remember just the same
We were lean an’ fast an’ hungry
And life was one big party, but I’m sorry
I never caught your name

Oh, goodness gracious!
ragin’ crazy days
We tripped a light fantastic, for sure
definitely unconcerned

Where did you go? I never caught your name
It might have been a one-night stand
But I remember just the same
We were lean an’ hungry
And life was just a party, but I’m sorry
I never caught your name

As the years went by, I eventually got straight
My brother said he heard that you were workin’ in Kuwait
But that single night of revelry, still lingers in my memory
And left me hankerin’ for more
When you an’ I made love on his livin’ room floor

Where did you go? I never caught your name
It might have been a one-night stand
But I remember just the same
We were lean an’ fast an’ hungry
And life was just a party, but I’m sorry
I never caught your name

a thoughtless trespass
moved by piqued esteem
no harm intended, minding not
another’s deep despair
like random keys plucked
from school laptops
just to make a word
to put in his pocket

“buck up, pal” the
minor indiscretions
mean no harm
do not intend to injure
only careless words and deeds
that damage nonetheless
and so defend against this
formless threat of danger

the snide, the trite, the insincere
that brew and simmer
one day may
no longer be repaired

Mama’ll get by
Her heart is unafraid
But mama gon’ cry
Her baby gone crazy
Baby done died
Gun in his hand
I told you those boys were not his friends
Mama doesn’t cry
Won’t be afraid
But mama gon’ cry
I told you those boys were not his friends
I told you you won’t like how this ends
I told you
I told you
I told you

Mama done said
Trouble gon’ find a way
But she said, “let the boy be,
He’ll make a fine man one day”
But I told you those boys were not his friends
Gotta be strong
When peace is hard to find
Livin’ this way – hurt’s not far behind
I told you you won’t like how this ends
I told you
I told you
I told you . . .

So, I’m down in old town Ybor City
The days are hot, and, well, the nights get steamy
How I got here – let me tell you why
I’m on the run, but I might stay awhile
Y’see back in Dallas – good job, a nice place
Sweet young thing with a pretty face
Lost it all in a card game, and with my assets cashed
Now she’s after me an’ I can’t go back

Hey, Senorita
I’ll have another margarita
With your very best tequila
You’re a sweetheart, you’re a doll

Y’know, I can get used to this
I feel rejuvenated, in a way
I suppose I could find a real job
Yeah, perhaps another day

Lemme puff on this nice fat LaFaraona Mareva cigar
Platanos? No gracias

Hey, Senorita
Just one more margarita
With an extra shot o’ tequila
Until I hit the wall

So, now I’m smokin’ Tabenero Bocados
In the shade con mis nuevos aceres
Spending my time where she won’t find me
Y’know I gotta lay low, but I don’t mind
Still playin’ poker but only for matchsticks
Perhaps a little broker I have to admit
But at the end of the day in Ybor by the bay
Feliz y borracho – The Big Guava Ballet

Hey, Senorita
Let’s have another round o’ tequila
Maybe one more hit o’ that Colorado reefer
Then bury me where I fall

All the birds – in the trees
Sing their song – and the bees
Do their thing – they don’t know
That you’re gone – that you’re gone
All the birds – in the trees
Sing their song – they don’t know

In the morning – when I wake up
A day that I spend without you
When the sun sets – and the night falls
Alone in this house without you
Nothing I do – no place I go to
Erases the gloom of these blues
The songs that I hear
And the people I see
Remind me that you’re nowhere near
You’ve gone away

Check my phone – got a text – is it you?
Should’a known – could’a guessed – nothing new
When you’d call I’m elated
Like when we were dating
But darling it’s over to soon
On my own – what comes next?
I’m alone – I hear steps – is it you?

All the birds – in the trees
Sing their song – and the bees
Do their thing – they don’t know
That you’re gone – that you’re gone
All the birds – in the trees
Sing their song – they don’t know

Empty moments – my life without you
Time lost as the days slip away
Waiting for you – to come home, dear
To love me don’t leave me this way
You said that we’d be as one endlessly
But my heart aches as I sit all alone
So I bide here – my melancholy
While you’re gone

All the birds – in the trees
Sing their song – and the bees
Do their thing – they don’t know
That you’re gone – that you’re gone . . .

i’ve heard so many people’s stories of their lives
sat around the table now an’ then
my own adventures take me past the world i knew
like a dream keeps dancin’ in my head
on the road again
i’m my own forgotten friend
i’m alone again
can’t explain and can’t pretend
when i’m alone
on the road again

my new found buddies always have a tale to tell
about the folks they left behind
well i left a soul or two my own along the way
how do i say good-bye to them
i’m on the road again
can’t say how it all began
i’m alone again
don’t know when it’s all gonna end
but i’m alone
on the road again

so many places i have been – so many faces i have seen
of all the names that i have known – i can’t recall them all
i have my ticket to the world – and i’ve travelled far and wide
my home is where i find myself – I guess my conscience is my guide
when i’m on the road
don’t know where it all began
i’m alone
on the road again

i look at strangers like my family
they be treatin’ me like someone that they know
i enter places that are new to me
but i always seem to know which way to go
on the road again
just as long as i keep movin’
on the road again
no designs, no delusions
i’m alone again
on the road again

i’ve heard so many people’s stories of their lives
sat around the table now an’ then
an’ i left a girl or two my own along the way
found time to say good-bye to them
on the road again
i’m my own forgotten friend
i’m alone again
can’t explain and can’t pretend
on the road again
i’m alone again

The days are getting warmer, yet
those broken songs won’t play, but with
curling season cashing in
help is on the way
We fared well throughout the fever
full o’ love till the canary died
no oxygen left in that room, but
heaven knows we tried
You’re gonna have to trust me
things will be okay
you’re gonna have to trust me
you’re gonna have to trust me

We both know I’m not a prophet
my inspiration’s not divine
I take wisdom where I find it
but I’ve received, I think, a sign
And yes, that winter war was tough
it caused damage, it left scars
those rough and tumble last few days
those guilty words of ours
But you’re gonna have to trust me
‘cause our love is meant to be
you’re gonna have to trust me
you’re gonna have to trust me

So don’t say good-bye, don’t fare me well
don’t close our crippled, tattered book
ours is a romance for the ages
with just some dreadfully bad luck
And as the flowers in the garden bloom
and when the flocks of birds return
we’ll look back on what we’d brought about
and the lessons that we’ve learned
but, darlin’, until then
You’re gonna have to trust me
our scars were fairly earned
you’re gonna have to trust me
you’re gonna have to trust me

You’re gonna have to trust me
things will be okay
you’re gonna have to trust me
you’re gonna have to trust me