Lyrics
Included here are all of the original lyrics from the albums While You Were Gone and Spot of Time, as well as the ep America’s a Lonely Town and the 2008 WPGU radio performance.
TELECLONE UNIVERSE
In the teleclone universe, world wars have come and gone
McDonald’s is just one neon sign and James Dean keeps driving on
In the teleclone universe, there’s no atomic age
Kerouac’s off the booze and on the road while Reagan stays backstage
In the teleclone universe, life rings clear and true
You end up with me, I end up with you
In the teleclone universe, it’s one nocturnal dream
Everything there is what it is and nothing’s as it seems
In the teleclone universe, it’s true that time stands still
Heaven is only a nearby town on Mahalia Jackson Hill
In the teleclone universe, life rings clear and true
You end up with me, I end up with you
In the teleclone universe, John Lennon’s not shot dead
Little Willie John singin’ rhythm n’ blues with the fever in his head
In the teleclone universe, those record go ‘round and around
Jack Nitzsche cues the brass and strings to that wall of sound
In the teleclone universe, no one can buy your soul
Beethoven just gave Tchaikovsky the news, “Baby, here comes rock n’ roll.”
In the teleclone universe, Natalie Wood whispers in your ear,
“There’s nothing down there that can compare to what we got around here.”
In the teleclone universe, life rings clear and true
You end up with me, I end up with you.
(Music, Jim Tullio)
BLACK-EYED SUSAN
(With Billy Panda)
There’s a train outside your window, but you don’t live by the tracks
The birds flew south last summer and they won’t be flying back
You’re at your kitchen table, fighting hard but losing ground
With shadows and memories dancing all around
If you love Black-eyed Susan, there’s a price you must pay
But you love Black-eyed Susan anyway
She is nobody’s daughter, can’t be claimed by anyone
Her smile comes straight from Venus and it kisses you like the sun
And every day you’re with her, only cancels out the past
And every night is stronger than the last
If you love Black-eyed Susan, there’s a price you must pay
But you love Black-eyed Susan anyway
She will say she’ll stay forever, she will swear that you’re the first
She’ll promise you water from heaven’s well while you’re dying there of thirst
And if you cry for mercy, she might toss a bone or two
Till she’s certain you need her much more than she need you
If you love Black-eyed Susan, there’s a price you must pay
But you love Black-eyed Susan anyway.
BED FULL OF BLUE
What were you doing in my bed last night?
What were you doing in my head last night?
You looked so happy and you seemed so brave
The voice I was hearing didn’t come from the grave
It was you, it was you in my bed full of blue
Someone was singing a slow blues last night
Voice sounded lonesome, not a trace of light
Woke up this morning, my head full of you
Woke up this morning in a bed full of blue
It was you, baby, you in my bed full of blue
Everyone’s trembling, who knows what it’s about?
Bound to take your insides, turn them inside out
Who you once were wouldn’t recognize you now
The why doesn’t matter, it’s all about how
Muddy Waters sitting, black turban on his head
Picks up his Fender, here’s what he said:
“Are you ready for me? I’m ready for you.
Bring it on over to my bed full of blue.”
With you, baby, you in my bed full of blue
Doc Pomus listening, cool as he can be
Says, “This moment’s magic, save the last dance for me.”
Up in heaven’s nightclub, it’s too good to be true
It’s Lonely Avenue in my bed full of blue.”
Calling you, baby, you from my bed full of blue
Everyone’s trembling, who knows what it’s about?
Bound to take your insides, turn them inside out
Who you once were doesn’t mean much anyhow
Back then don’t matter, it’s all about now
What were you doing in my mind last night?
What kind of truth did I find last night?
A song on your lips and a rose in your hand
We all gotta live with what we can’t understand
It was you, baby, you in my bed full of blue
(Music, Jim Tullio)
TUNNEL AT THE END OF THE LIGHT
She was a child of the city
He was man of the world
It was no match made in heaven
No story of boy finding girl
She had that something about her
That made him jump out of his skin
So he circled the earth just to sleep at her side
Until he was spun back again
Oh, but how he was spun back again
There was rust at the end of the rainbow
And the stars disappeared in the night
Inside each silver lining was a dark dirty cloud
With a tunnel at the end of the light,
With a tunnel at the end of the light
The good went to bad as it happened
The bad went to worse everyday
She told him he might as well open a vein
For all of his cheap vulgar ways
They were seeing the ending of something
With simply nowhere to begin
But it’s hard to tell how bad you’re losing a game
Once you find that there’s nothing to win
They both found there was nothing to win
There was rust at the end of the rainbow
And the stars disappeared in the night
Inside each silver lining was a dark dirty cloud
With a tunnel at the end of the light,
With a tunnel at the end of the light
He loved her the last time he saw her
And as they lay down on the bed
Copland and Foster and Bernstein
Played a hoedown that sang in his head
But the music soon faded to nothing
His pride had come after the fall
Sometimes the silence that follows the end
Is the laughter that’s loudest of all,
That’s the laugh that was loudest of all
There was rust at the end of the rainbow
And the stars disappeared in the night
Inside each silver lining was a dark dirty cloud
With a tunnel at the end of the light,
With a tunnel at the end of the light.
WALKIN’ MY KARMA
What are you doing, what have you done?
What’s being written under the sun?
What’s in the mixture, mixing as one?
Voices and visions float in and out
Now that you’ve got here, what’s it about?
Lean close and whisper, step back and shout
You’re caught in a drama
I’m walkin’ my karma, doin’ my bit
Walkin’ my karma, workin’ with it
I’m walkin’ my karma, the hand I was given
See yourself moving from here to there
Either frustration or not a care
What’s feeling solid turns to thin air
Smooth sailing, then trauma
I’m walkin’ my karma, doin’ my bit
Walkin’ my karma, workin’ with it
I’m walkin’ my karma, the hand I was given
Praise or blame, it’s all the same
On the bench or in the game
With the fall of my footsteps
The call of my name
I’m walkin’ my karma
The things you’re doing, things you’ve done
Drift while you’re dreaming, mixing as one
As each day gets written under the sun
Go do what you’re gonna
I’m walkin’ my karma, doin’ my bit
Walkin’ my karma, makin’ it fit
I’m walkin’ my karma, the hand I was given,
The life that I’m livin’.
WHAT THE DEVIL LOVES
(With Fred Koller)
The devil loves a rich man, rich man loves his gold
Don’t believe in nothin’ that can’t be bought or sold
Right there on the money, it says ‘In God We Trust.’
Devil just sits waitin’ till those dollars turn to dust
Fire down below us, heaven up above
We all got somethin’ that we’re hungry for
That’s what the devil loves
Devil loves a poor man, poor man got to eat
Devil loves to tempt him with the taste of something sweet
Open up your Bible, there in Chapter One
Adam bit that apple and the devil’s job was done
Fire down below us, heaven up above
We all got somethin’ that we’re hungry for
That’s what the devil loves
Devil loves a baby, laughs each time it cries
Banking on that emptiness, building up inside
Everything that’s wicked, starts from some place pure
One day you feel satisfied, the next day you’re not sure
Fire down below us, heaven up above
We all got somethin’ that we’re hungry for
That’s what the devil loves
KEY TO THE KINGDOM
Shouting in the distance, can’t make out the phrase
This old world aint ending, it’s just going through a phase
Give me the key to the kingdom, I’ve got a light to shine
Everybody’s finding something, I think I’ll go get mine
Hand me down my sidearm, pull it off the shelf
Been sitting still for so long, I can barely stand myself
Give me the key to the kingdom, I’ve fallen far behind
Everybody’s grabbing something, I think I’ll go get mine
One kid went to England, one kid went to France
One kid went to Nashville ‘cause he never learned to dance
Give me the key to the kingdom, there’s something I must find
Everybody’s getting somewhere, I think I’ll go get mine
Seal up all the windows, get ready for rain
I heard that hound dog howling like a hellbound train
Give me the key to the kingdom, I’m tired of traveling blind
Everybody’s getting somewhere, I think I’ll go get mine
One buck buys you nothing, five bucks not much more
Ten bucks wins the door prize, then you’ve got to lock the door
Give me the key to the kingdom, I’m in a terrible bind
Everybody’s grabbing something, I think I’ll go get mine
Stepped out on the front porch, stumbled and I fell
My landlord wouldn’t help me ‘cause I pay him too well
Give me the key to the kingdom, I need to cut in line
Everybody’s finding something, I’m gonna go get mine.
IT ALL HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE GONE
I looked here, I looked there, Lord, I looked everywhere
For the life of me, no one was home
I got cold, it got dark and I went on a lark
Feeling foolish and young and alone
How I ranted and raved on a chance I’d be saved
If I lived every line of my song
I got sick, I got well and I raised holy hell
And it all happened while you were gone
Well, I walked by the sea seeking Annabelle Lee
Who was older and wiser than I
When she took me inside with her arms open wide
Well, I felt that at least I could die
She rich, I was poor and I felt like a whore
One whose fate was to be strung along
It looked wrong in the light what we did every night
And it all happened while you were gone
Gone, long gone
Through the wrong and the right and the wrong
Lord, I swam till I sank and I drank and I drank
And it all happened while you were gone
So I sat on the sand with my time in my hands
While the waves were too frozen to break
And this feeling I had that I’d been going mad
It was something my soul couldn’t shake
So I sweated some blood as the sand turned to mud
And the wind whipped around me so strong
But my ship finally came and I shouted your name
And it all happened while you were gone
Gone, long gone
Through the wrong and the right and the wrong
Lord, I swam till I sank and I drank and I drank
And it all happened while you were gone
When I see you again, it will be as a friend
With whom I would share wine and bread
But please spare me the song of the lovers we’ve known
While we were away from our bed
It’s a sin, it’s a shame what is done in the name
Of true love, till that love wanders home
I can’t grieve anymore for what was done before
‘Cause it all happened while you were gone
Gone, long gone
Through the wrong and the right and the wrong
Lord, I swam till I sank and I drank and I drank
And it all happened while you were gone
COOL OF THE DAY
In the cool of the day, I can feel you
Though the evening is gray, I can see you
And I know that I’ll be more than right
Know you’ll see me through the night
Know I’ll walk into the light with you
When my strength starts to stray, you surround me
All my fear goes away once you’ve found me
And as your soothing voice comes through
I know what I’m meant to do
There’s no room for second thoughts at all
When I say that I’ll try, you believe me
Even though I may die, you won’t leave me
Yes, and when this life seems far too much
I can feel your soothing touch
Telling me there’s such a thing as love
AUTUMN ENDING
Come here to the window and listen to the wind
It’s a clear November morning, we can watch it all begin
The fields are ripe for harvest, and winter’s weeks away
Everything we ever wanted is ours to have today
Not a cloud in the sky, no smoke on the new horizon
Not a tear in any eye, no voices raised in warning
But in that silence can’t you hear something trying to reach your ear?
All around, the sound of autumn ending
Walking down the sidewalk, humming my own tune
Thinking maybe some sweet someday, I’d tap dance on the moon
Stop to buy a paper, seems like all the news is good
Seems like life is turning out exactly like it should
With not a cloud in the sky, no smoke on the new horizon
Not a tear in any eye, no voices raised in warning
But in that silence can’t you hear something trying to reach your ear?
All around, the sound of autumn ending
That night in my bedroom, I dreamed a hazy dream
I dreamed of blood red roses and a dark blue limousine
A horse without a rider, the sound of muffled drums
And somewhere in that darkened sleep, I knew the hour had come
But not a cloud in the sky, no smoke on the new horizon
Not a tear in any eye, no voices raised in warning
But in that silence can’t you hear something trying to reach your ear?
All around, the sound of autumn ending.
BLESSED
Blessed are the wounded for they shall be healed
Blessed are the corpses on the battlefield
Blessed are he toothless, blessed are the dumb
Who sit counting beads, their day’s gonna come
Blessed are the witnesses who claim they don’t know
Who went the way of the buffalo
And if you feel it’s true, blessed be to you
Blessed are the widows, blessed are the weak
And though they’ve been spoken for, blessed are the meek
Blessed are the bloodless, whose stomachs lack food
Blessed the dependent, who need pills to shape their mood
Blessed is the criminal, blessed is the bride
Bless the safe houses in which we can hide
And if you feel it too, blessed be to you
While we’re stranded at the station and there’s mayhem in the air
Don’t let your kneecaps buckle with despair
There’s faith to be embraced here, there’s hope to be reclaimed
Every ticket into heaven has been numbered and named
So blessed be to you
Blessed are the hopeless with too much to bear
Blessed are the clerics for their twisted prayer
Blessed are the fingers that shuffle the cards
Blessed are the fires in the barren yards
Blessed is the heretic, blessed is the saint
Who gave up his garment without a complaint
We’re all the chosen few, blessed be to you
Blessed is everything under the sun
The hub of the wheel, the stock of the gun
Blessed are the brilliant, blessed are the fools
There’s divinity within all the molecules
Blessed are the wicked who need to transform
Blessed are the nervous who have to conform
It’s time for something new, blessed be to you
When the ports are blockaded and there’s chaos everywhere
If my papers are in order, I’ll meet you there
There’s a vivid resurrection to put all doubts to rest
A table’s been prepared for the wedding guest
Blessed be to you
Blessed are the innocent, their faces concealed
Blessed are the decadent whose deeds will be revealed
Blessed is everything we’ve thought or we’ve said
The contaminated living, the liberated dead
Blessed be the haunted, blessed those at peace
Blessed the convicted, may they find release
The hour is overdue, so blessed be to you
DON’T LOOK FOR LOVE
Close your eyes, my midnight companion
The night will pass no matter what we do
All we did was paint our feelings blue
Don’t love for love, love looks for you
Regards to any long gone relations
Aren’t some over long before they’re through?
It’s simple and it’s sad but it’s true
Don’t look for love, love looks for you
It will leave you standing stranded in the darkness
It will make you wild and wasted on its trail
It will keep you riled and restless as you track it through the night
It will throw away the key the day it locks you in its jail
Goodbye to all my eager expectations
The chips that fell were far between and few
One and one won’t always give you two
Don’t look for love, love looks for you
SPOT OF TIME
Have all the songs been written, has romance run its course?
Are there parts that just stay broken, separated from the source?
Who says there’s something wrong here, stuck to some spot of time?
Who says you don’t belong here, stuck to some spot of time?
That town you sometimes visit, you can’t find on a map
There’s a family you are part of while you’re drinking from that tap
Who says there’s something wrong here, stuck to some spot of time?
Who says you don’t belong here, stuck to some spot of time?
On a street you’ll find a warehouse, where it’s guys and beer and pool
Are they part of some tomorrow, did you know them back in school?
Who says there’s something wrong here, stuck to some spot of time?
Who says you don’t belong her, stuck to some spot of time?
If you think the world turns, it doesn’t
If you think that time flows, you’re wrong
All that you have is this moment to play out your whole life long
There’s a girl whose lips are parted, she wears an orange beret
Her smile says if you kiss her, there’s no choice but to stay
Who says there’s something wrong here, stuck to some spot of time?
Who says you don’t belong here, stuck to some spot of time?
The clouds scream out, ‘It’s winter.’ The sky looks hard as steel
You know you must return now to what you think is real
Who says there’s nothing wrong here, stuck to some spot of time?
Who says that you belong here, stuck to some spot of time?
PERSONAL HISTORY
Everything I’ve heard of you is true
Everything I’ve heard of you is not true
Everything I’ve heard of you is true (and it isn’t true)
Everything I’ve heard of you is not true (and it isn’t not true)
And now, I know everything
Now, I know everything.
WHITE MEN LANDING
So I crossed the dead ocean
To the land of the pagan
Now I’m lost in a prison
Where the walls are all golden
Where the doors never open
I am dead, I am dreaming
And my body is burning
Every green eye is hiding
Now the white men are landing
In the black velvet nothing
I will dance if you whip me
I will pray if you beat me
I will sing if you cut me
I will die if you let me,
I will die if you let me
I am dead, I am dreaming
And my body is burning
Every green eyes is hiding
Now the white men are landing
In the black velvet nothing,
In the black velvet nothing
OFF TO THE RACES
So it’s off to the races
Gonna see how they run
Find a seat in the grandstand
Under the sun
The track is all muddy
From a mid-morning rain
Sit and sip your mint julep
To lessen the strain
Don’t you know Robert Johnson
Was a dangerous man
In the time that you’re given
Gotta give what you can
Allen Ginsberg wrote visions
On a hydrogen cloud
You get what you pray for
Once you say it out loud
There’s a page in the Bible
That’s bloodstained and torn
There’s a beast in the desert
Who has yet to be born
Time to tie up your sandals
For to walk toward the sun
Though it seems the world’s ending
It’s barely begun
So it’s off to the races
Gonna see how they run
Find a seat in the grandstand
Under the sun….
MEDUSA
Medusa, Medusa, the girl with the snakes in her hair
Medusa had snakes, snakes in her hair
Medusa had snakes in her hair
One look alone could turn you to stone
Not what you’d call dainty or fair
Throughout every age when they talk about rage
They all take a page from Medusa
Down through the years, wreaking terror and tears
Da Vinci and Dali’s Medusa
Medusa, Medusa, the girl with the snakes in her hair
Good Perseus cut, cut off her head
Without which you tend to be dead
Placed on a shield for Athena to wield
All evil would be put to bed
Alex the Great, her face on his breastplate
Drew power and hate from Medusa
Versace’s posh bags and Sicily’s flags
They all flash the face of Medusa
Medusa, Medusa, the girl with the snakes in her hair
Medusa has done, she’s done pretty fair
Medusa has done pretty fair
Her story gets told, her image is gold
The girl with the snakes in her hair
Medusa, Medusa, the girl with the snakes in her hair
(Music, Brian Schey & Erin Humphrey)
WILLIAM WILSON
(Inspired by the story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe)
Those days at school with cards and wine
I lived a life I thought was mine
Another man was looking on
A step behind but never gone
We shared the name, William Wilson
Evil comes on silent wings
It grabs your sleeve and so it clings
But the evil bound to steal your breath
Is your silent twin, your mirror of death
And mine was William Wilson
I roamed the world, I shared my skin
Days of leisure, nights of sin
Time stretched out the way it does
I felt alone, but never was
I lived with William Wilson
Evil comes on silent wings
You feel its touch and then it stings
But the evil bound to steal your breath
Is your phantom self, your mirror of death
And mine was William Wilson
I finally knew I’d had my fill
My watchful friend, I’d have to kill
I steeled my will, I grabbed my knife
And cut in half my double life
And I died with William Wilson
Evil comes on silent wings
It starts to hum and then it sings
But the evil bound to steal your breath
Is your shadow soul, your mirror of death
And mine was William Wilson
Mine was William Wilson
And I died with William Wilson
(Music, Brian Schey & Erin Humphrey)
WAKE UP AND DREAM
Every life is meant for living
Every song is to be sung
Every gift is meant for giving
It’s the same for everyone
For the world was built by dreamers
Dreams are real, and so it seems,
That this world was made for dreaming
If we just wake up and dream
You can wait a lonely lifetime
For a knock upon your door
Ships are safe inside the harbor
But is that what ships are for?
All the world was built by dreamers
Dreams are real, and so it seems,
That this world was made for dreaming
If we just wake up and dream
There’s a time for every person
There’s a place for everything
And from every situation
What we take is what we bring
You can wait a lonely lifetime
For a knock upon your door
Ships are safe inside the harbor
But is that what ships are for?
All the world was built by dreamers
Dreams are real, and so it seems,
That this world was made for dreaming
If we just wake up and dream
All the world was made for dreaming
Can’t we just wake up and dream?
(Music, Ed Tossing)
AMERICA’S A LONELY TOWN
(With Billy Panda)
Driving ‘cross country, late one night,
Twelve-thirty by the dashboard clock
Outside of Denver, I stopped for a bite
Went into a coffee shop
The waitress walked by me, she looked pretty weary,
Spreading those plates around
The look in her eyes got me to thinking,
America’s a lonely town
Back on the highway, some guy hitching
Hard to ignore that gaze
I thought about stopping, but I just kept driving
You can’t be too sure these days
I looked in the mirror, watched him get smaller
Distance and dark all around
I wondered if somewhere, does somebody miss him,
America’s a lonely town
Through any window, on every screen
Divided by highways, driven by dreams
I took the next exit, pulled into a station
Then I picked up the phone
I dialed up the number, her voice sounded sleepy
“When are you coming home?”
I told her I missed her, she told me she loved me
I put the phone back down
Looked out at the highway, nothing but headlights
America’s a lonely town
HOW FAR CAN ONE MAN FALL?
(With Billy Panda)
I thought I’d hit the bottom after you had gone away
The dark clouds up above me would be lifting any day
But that was wishful thinking, there’s no end in sight at all
Tell me, how far can one man fall?
From the moment I first met you, life was sweet as sweet can be
Not a man in all creation, as fortunate as me
But now it’s just a memory, too painful to recall
Tell me, how far can one man fall?
They say you don’t start healing till you’ve felt the deepest pain
They say the sun keeps shining up above this pouring rain
We once stood on a mountain with the world stretched out below
We were just this side of heaven and then you let me go
When I feel some ground beneath me, that’s when I’ll begin to crawl
Tell me, how far can one man fall?
JUST LUCKY, I GUESS
(With Billy Panda)
Cry on my shoulder when your heart gets burned
And then it’s over and you’ve finally learned this time
Before you know it, it’ll happen again
Then I’m the one you run to when you’re in distress
Just lucky, I guess
I get your mornings and your afternoons
You spend your evenings with the one you kiss goodnight
I’m not like all the others ‘cause I treat you right
You tell me I’m the only one you don’t need to impress
Just lucky, I guess
Each day my heart keeps saying, “Don’t let your feelings show.”
But will I love you forever and never let you know?
I’m hardly sleeping and my nerves are shot
Got all these feeling that I’d rather not confess
Just lucky, I guess
LONESOME TOGETHER
(With Billy Panda)
Last night I was sitting in my living room chair
Hadn’t changed my clothes, hadn’t combed my hair
I began to wonder, “Are you sitting home too, while the night is wasting away?”
I kept dialing your number but I couldn’t get through
Here’s what I wanted to say…
Why don’t we be lonesome together?
Why don’t we give it a try?
Wouldn’t hurt no one, might even be fun
Might turn into something we both can’t deny
You could use a change in the weather
I could lose the blues now and then
And if we keep being lonesome together
We might never be lonesome again
Tonight I’m planning a whole lotta fun
A microwave dinner, a table for one
But if you come over it’ll be just fine, I could use a little company
You’ve got your troubles, baby, I’ve got mine
And if you’re half as lonesome a me…
Why don’t we be lonesome together?
Got nothing better to do
Wouldn’t hurt one bit, you gotta admit
The time might be right to try out something new
This situation can’t last forever
I’ll be sitting here if and when
And if we keep being lonesome together
We might never be lonesome again
VANDALIA
(With Billy Panda)
I live outside a town called Vandalia
I hear there’s quiet streets and a pretty square
But I’m doing three to five in Vandalia
So I aint really living anywhere
I never dreamed I’d end up in Vandalia
I was brought up knowing wrong from right
Good intentions pave the road to Vandalia
What you swear you’d never do, you just might
But I’ll never breathe the air in Vandalia
Or set foot on the sidewalks of that town
And if I ever come back to Vandalia
It’ll be on that same road that I went down
I hear there’s pretty women in Vandalia
I’ll bet there’s guys who could be friends of mine
But they don’t wanna know you in Vandalia
So you’d better leave here once you’ve done your time
I’ll never breathe the air in Vandalia
Or set foot on the sidewalks of that town
And if I ever come back to Vandalia
It’ll be on that same road that I went down
WHAT THERE’LL BE LEFT OF ME
(With Billy Panda)
I know I didn’t listen when you said you needed more
We had a few rough edges, I chose to ignore
I know I didn’t comfort you when we would disagree
But I don’t know when you go, what there’ll be left of me
I know you felt neglected from too much time alone
I know you saw some sides of me I never should have shown
I know your heart cried out in ways I simply couldn’t see
I just don’t know when you go, what there’ll be left of me
I know I can’t make you stay
I know we’re too far apart to meet halfway
I’m sure he’ll treat you better, at least he’ll get the chance
I hope you’ll take some good things from our failed romance
I wish you all the happiness this world can guarantee
But I don’t know when you go, what there’ll be left of me.
COMING HOME FROM SHILOH
(With Billy Panda)
Eighteen sixty-two, gray was fighting blue
And her Johnny joined to fight for Tennessee
On the night he left, she lit her bedroom lamp
And said, “This flame will burn till you return to me.”
Sometimes late at night
When the moon was full and bright
They’d see her all alone behind her window
Her love, forever gone
The flame kept burning on
She still thinks he’s coming home from Shiloh
Nineteen twenty-three, she had lived to see
Her beauty being faded by the years
She’d wake up with the moon, but never leave her room
The dancing light burning bright to keep away the tears
Sometimes late at night
They’d see her pale and white
Waiting all alone behind her window
They’d shiver as they swear
They’ve seen her standing there
She still thinks he’s coming home from Shiloh
The oldest house in town, no one will tear it down
They say it’s always dark and cold inside
And in her room upstairs, that lamp is sitting there
But it stopped burning on the night she died
Sometimes late at night
When the moon is full and bright
There’s a shadow looking down behind her window
They shiver as they swear
They’ve seen her standing there
She still thinks he’s coming home from Shiloh
HEAVY THE COAT, HEAVY THE SEA
Tonight the sky is black and starless
As I am rowing in the darkness
My arms and spirit are so weary
And this boat knows no port of entry
Heavy the oars that part the water
Heavy the coat upon my shoulders
Heavy the sea that swirls beneath me
Heavy the world though it be empty
I met the Master of the water
I wept and fasted for His answer
He said, “A storm will rage behind me,
But cast your net and you will find me.”
Heavy the oars that part the water
Heavy the coat upon my shoulders
Heavy the sea that swirls beneath me
Heavy the world though it be empty
The fishes live inside the ocean
They feel us sailing high above them
What blows the wind and rolls the thunder
May be another world we’re under
Heavy the oars that part the water
Heavy the coat upon my shoulders
Heavy the sea that swirls beneath me
Heavy the world though it be empty
TIMES I TRIED TO LOVE YOU
Whoever said, “Love is blind”
Must have had someone like me in mind
That’s how I feel about
Times I tried to love you
For every star out in the blue
There burns a lie I once heard from you
Yes, I still think about
Times I tried to love you
I played my hand with the rest of them
But it never seemed to turn over right
The best laid plans of mice and men
Are dreams that disappear overnight
Once it breaks off there’s no love lost
And like a bridge that is burned once it’s crossed
I’ll soon forget about
Times I tried to love you
I’ll put them far behind
Those times I tried to love you
UNFURNISHED
(Spoken word)
There was no rental
The landlord came, hoping to line his slick pockets
But there was no rental
Not with a dead mouse in the middle of the floor
We left it there
Placed it with care
Before we closed the door
There was no rental
The lady downstairs complained of too much racket
So there was no rental
Not with fumes from cooking still brushed thick in the air
Slop-y ceiling
Ghost-y feeling
And were we even there?
Those tunes we sang are still on paper
The words we had must linger to this day
The account of that winter, can you vaguely remember?
Even the neighborhood seemed a continent away
The nights were brown like postal wrapper
The dawns cut sharp, a razor glinting gray
Through the shock of December, did we exit or enter?
While the walls and our thoughts made a tangled bouquet
Some occupation, but with no quieting sense of a center
Exploitable renter,
That is the hand that gets dealt to the self-employed
Limitation
Deprivation
No floor to be enjoyed
We probed the darkness, we lit the stove
Whose pilot light fell cold as yes, a tomb
The city came to inspect
But held out no respect
To that lamentable room
Some occupation, defined by a shadow in the drawer
Cold steam on the burner
Rust insolently spreading deep in the ice box
All that could fit,
Make sense of it
Were keys inside the locks
UNTITLED
I waited for the thunder, feeling meek against the morning
But nothing much was doing in the dull and muted sky
So I strapped on my ambition as I walked the path of passion
Now that song had ended, I can barely tell you why
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to always worry
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
I believed a lie
Now I’m strong, strong, strong
With time enough to hurry
Before the fire would freeze us in a twinkling of an eye
I dreamed I saw the children linking arms across the water
With smiles of deep compassion in the diamonds of their eyes
I listened for the lightning, but there was none forthcoming
So I danced in my thanksgiving, feeling innocent and wise
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to ever gamble
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Lord, I might have died
But now I’m strong, strong, strong
And the world is not in shambles
As the flame burns on eternal from the first day of July
As all that I imagined came to pass as I’d envisioned
I realize the future is a friend to be embraced
As I hear the swollen echo of every promise broken
A look of understanding has been written on my face
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to always worry
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
I believed a lie
Now I’m strong, strong, strong
With time enough to hurry
Before the fire would freeze us in a twinkling of an eye
And as I hold my loved ones, there’s nothing that can touch us
They provide the anchor to my restless state of grace
As all the pointless questions are fading in the darkness
My life becomes a journey that no pilgrim can retrace
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to ever gamble
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Lord, I might have died
But now I’m strong, strong, strong
And the world is not in shambles
As the flame burns on eternal from the first day of July
I sang the song of terror with words I have forgotten
To every ear that heard it I must first apologize
For when I see the splendor of an ordinary morning
I bow my head in wonder and I can’t believe my eyes
I spent all my frustration with friends I have forsaken
And for those careless moments I hope I’ve paid the price
But the hurt that is apparent on the face of any stranger
Makes my debt much larger so I’ll gladly pay it twice
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to always worry
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
I believed a lie
Now I’m strong, strong, strong
With time enough to hurry
Before the fire would freeze us in a twinkling of an eye
As all hallucinations re crumbling into nothing
And all substantial teachings at last re given voice
We will hear the trumpet sounding we will see the scroll unfolding
A cause for celebration for all who made the choice
And as I see the falcon circling high above me
I somehow know for certain I still count him a friend
As I’m standing on the shoreline with both feet in the water
No one needs to tell me that I’ve finally reached the end
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Wrong to ever gamble
I was wrong, wrong, wrong
Lord, I might have died
But now I’m strong, strong, strong
And the world is not in shambles
As the flame burns on eternal at the threshold of July
SONG CREDITS
America’s a Lonely Town; Published 2012, Bodark Music, BMI/Wireless Music, BMI
Autumn Ending; Published 1996, Wireless Music, BMI/Her Little Fat Guy Publishing BMI/Just Mee Two Publishing BMI
Bed Full of Blue; Published 2006, Bodark Music, BMI/ Tools Music, BMI
Black-eyed Susan; Published 2004, Bodark Music, BMI/Wireless Music BMI
Blessed; Published 2005, Bodark Music BMI
Coming Home from Shiloh; Published 2019, Bodark Music, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
Cool of the Day; Published 1985, Wireless Music, BMI
Don’t Look for Love; Published 1977, Wireless Music, BMI
Heavy the Coat, Heavy the Sea; Published 1979, Wireless Music, BMI
How Far Can One Man Fall? Published 2019; Songs of Mojo One, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
It All Happened While You Were Gone; Published 1977; Wireless Music, BMI
Just Lucky, I Guess; Published 2019, Songs of Mojo One, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
Key to the Kingdom; Published 2006, Wireless Music, BMI
Lonesome Together; Published 2019, Bodark Music, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
Medusa; Published 2017, Bodark Music, BMI/Hazeltop Music, ASCAP/Erin Humphrey, NA
Off to the Races; Published 2012, Bodark Music, BMI
Personal History; Published 2016, Bodark Music, BMI
Spot of Time; Published 2016, Bodark Music, BMI
Teleclone Universe; Published 2007, Bodark Music, BMI/ Tools Music, BMI
Times I Tried to Love You; Published 1979, Wireless Music, BMI
Tunnel at the End of the Light; Published 2005, Wireless Music, BMI
Unfurnished; Spoken word, first performed 2007
Untitled; Published 1990, Universal Music Group, BMI/Bodark Music, BMI (Alternate version “Threshold of July”)
Vandalia; Published 2019, Songs of Mojo One, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
Wake up and Dream; Published 1987, Wireless Music BMI/Ed Tossing Music BMI/Skinny Music, BMI
Walkin’ My Karma; Published 2007, Bodark Music, BMI/ Tools Music, BMI
What the Devil Loves; Published 2007, Polygram Music, BMI/Songs of Mojo One, BMI
What There’ll Be Left of Me; Published 2019, Bodark Music, BMI/Billy Panda, NA
White Men Landing; Published 1979, Wireless Music, BMI
William Wilson; Published 2017, Bodark Music, BMI/Hazeltop Music, ASCAP/Erin Humphrey, NA