1. |
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I put on a mask and robbed a bank
With the money I bought you a ring
We found a little place to rent on the south of town
And I laid low until the spring
When the flowers began to bloom and show
Signs of life like they had before
I took an entry-level government job
And I kept my eyes to the floor
You knew I held some darkness
You never asked what it was or why
Just kept that feeling buried deep in your gut
So that I didn’t have to lie
We scraped by through six summers and falls
But when they raised the rent
Two weeks before Christmas came
And a month after your mom’s accident
And then the drugstore test read long pink line
Well I knew I’d have to make my stand
Because I know what I am and what I am not
I’m taking one last shot with these crooked hands
And I’m telling you now because I want you to know
In case this doesn’t go as it should
I’m the same man I was all of those years ago
Who risked it all to give you all that I could
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2. |
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Crawling the walls of my hotel room
On the corner of Misison and 9th
I’ve got a two channel TV and a tan clock radio
To tune me in to the world outside
The mattress sags in the middle
The dirty curtain drags on the floor
Depending on you aint something I’m used to
And I don’t know if I was built for
I called down to the front desk twice
Just to make sure this line still works
Then I go back to staring at this silent piece of plastic
And trying to push back my nerves
Just around ten to midnight
I feel the ringer scream
I let it rattle the desk a second time to test
My little relaxed routine
You said that everything was ready to go
Words I was waiting to hear
I grabbed my bag and a basic disguise
And I took one last look in the mirror
I’d been pacing this room in a panic so long
The desperation dampens the air
I taught a hotel clerk a little lesson about pressing
His nose in other men’s affairs
Now I’m on the highway it’s 3:30Am
I’m doing excessive speed Lord
I got a half-melted plastic Jesus on the dash
Of my ’94 Accord
I got a pawn shop purchased semi-automatic pistol
Underneath my seat
Wrappers of a dozen gas station speed pills
Crunch a rhythm out under my feet
Bad dreams in the back seat barking directions
Every time I check the rear-view mirror
Shaky hand reaching for the radio dial
But static is all we get around here
Ninety miles outside of Sacramento
Gas light glowing in the dawn
I took the second exit doing seventy-five
And I almost tried the guard rail on
Gotta find some fuel so I can make the rendezvous
The boys will be waiting on me
I slide into a Shell station on fumes
And put a couple wrinkled twenties down on three
Things around here are moving slower than I can
I spilled a little gas on my sleeve
I try to put the pump down in his resting place
And he looks just as tired as me
I’m way too tense to be sitting in this traffic
As I bounce back onto the road
Ive got an empty trunk and a gym bag riding shotgun
That’ll be searched when the car gets towed
I pull up to the pickup twenty seven minutes late
Straight faces all around
You put your rep on the line just to vouch for mine
And I don’t want to let you down
As I get my instructions and a few brief introductions
I feel like I’m talking a lot
I might have missed my cues and when this shit hits the news
I will wish I had not
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3. |
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It was a fool proof plan it was set it stone
Why did you bring him along?
Nobody would get hurt we’d all go home
Why did you bring him along?
You told me no need to worry
Why did you bring him along?
Things sure did get off track in a hurry
Why did you bring him along?
A simple little job two nights tops
Why did you bring him along?
Things would have went different if he could have just stopped
Why did you bring him along?
He never learned to shut his big mouth and pay attention
Why did you bring him along?
Now there’s something between us that don’t mention
Why did you bring him along?
He never should have been there in the first place
Why did you bring him along?
Now I’m never gonna forget the look on his face
Because you had to bring him along
Nobody is gonna know his side of the story
Why did you bring him along?
What happens in the quarry stays in the quarry
Sometimes things just go wrong
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4. |
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Dark waters have talked cement into your socks
Drowning all those adrift in their bay
The weight of their voice chewing over your choice
You’ve been trying to walk this feeling away
But the bridges you burned
Have been waiting their turn
To feed you their ashes with a broken spoon
And you’ll taste every one
With your tarnished silver tongue
Under the spell of that old yellow moon
Judgments you made
Have come around like the blade
Of a sword much too heavy to wield
Crashing down without care
Cutting through all the airs
You put on as your pious shield
Surrender yourself
To the tale you will tell
Of all that you gained by risking the fall
Find yourself surrounded
By the ghost you discounted
And ease your way into the hall
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5. |
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Timing never was a friend of mine
Either coming or going just a little behind
I figured someday I would fall in line
But I managed to stay out of step
Got to the party it was out of breath
Empty bottles and stale talk were al that was left
There was confetti in the couch dying an unseen death
But at least I could say I was there
I was there when the bottom fell away
And we danced to the decay
On the chance we’d change someday
When the bottom fell away
I always wanted to feel good here
Never found the footing between freedom and fear
Every time I looked up and my train appeared
I stood still on the platform and wept
A bent shadow as a right hand man
Held me up and back with the same two hands
One foot on the gas and a foot in the sand
I was nowhere but I knew I was there
I was there when the bottom fell way
And we danced to the decay
On the chance we’d change someday
When the bottom fell away
All we could do was stay
Down here so long
It didn’t feel wrong
Digging in for another day
When the bottom fell away
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6. |
Broken Window
03:07
|
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You were on the outside looking in
Then on the inside looking down
You tried to swim upstream
And you let the dream just drown
You were waiting on your “million dollar idea”
You wound up with a million little dollar thoughts
Tried to run with your bullshit
hoping that you wouldn’t get caught
Now everything you do
Just starting to feel a little bit out of tune
Come on darling don’t you worry
If you slow down there’s no hurry
You’re gonna find what it is I know you’re looking for
Come on darling don’t you worry
If you slow down there’s no hurry
You came in through the broken window
But you’re leaving through the door
There was a time that you talked so tough
Until you were walked on by the town
You felt the shift like a rip
In your thousand dollar wedding gown
Now you’re back to the drawing board
But all you’ve got’s a blank
Miles of open road to go but an empty tank
You were waiting for some kind of sign
To let you know you aint been left behind
And each new skin you slide through
Kills a little bit of the truth inside of you
Come on darling don’t you worry
If you slow down there’s no hurry
You’re gonna find what it is I know you’re looking for
Come on darling don’t you worry
If you slow down there’s no hurry
You came in through the broken window
But you’re leaving through the door
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7. |
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You put a Chevrolet onto a highway
Lit with love and never looked back
Cylinders pound as hard as your heart
As the sky dropped a curtain of black
And when the romantic hopes and the inside jokes
All turned to lofi break up songs
You tried to hold your head high and pretend you were right
When everything was clearly going wrong
You were fueled on despair dying more than your jet black hair
North bound with the pedal down
Diving into trouble in a dried up town
Good times gone and darkness coming around
Goodbye East Bay bloodlines, hello Northwest nights
You never felt so lost and lonesome
Run over by the rolling dice
You wanted so back to know real love
And to understand what it could mean
That you threw yourself head over heels
Onto the gears of it’s machine
And when mercy finally hit a kill switch
There was not much left to save
Just a couple of damaged kids that managed
To somehow turn out okay
You were fueled on despair dying more than your jet black hair
West bound with the pedal down
Diving into trouble in a dried up town
Good times gone and darkness coming around
Goodbye Steel City skylines, hello Northwest nights
You never felt so lost and lonesome
Run over by the rolling dice
Seven years down turned eleven years now
Your dreams of love never died
You packed up the crown of the bad end of town
And soberly swallowed your pride
Awoke to the sound of an old friend you found
A voice you let troubled times hide
And with no one around you dug your heart from the ground
And you were open to the ride
Goodbye lonely nights under grey skylines
No more living like you’re just waiting to die
You were feeling broken
So long you don’t remember
The last time you laid your love out on the line
Goodbye lonely nights under grey skylines
Hello love of your life
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8. |
Give It All You've Got
03:07
|
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Are you ever gonna feel like you belong
With your sour notes through your sweetest song
Afraid somebody’s shining a spotlight on
All you dreamt you were due in the dark
Are you ever gonna let the sweet breeze in
The windows you closed unbolted again
And let the uneasy feeling float off in the wind
And realize that you’ve come for far
The day is here the time is now
You’ve got to find a little light
through the fog somehow
Pick your battles choose your spot
You’ve only got one life to live
Give it all you’ve got
You’re eight hundred miles away again
From something resembling settling in
With your frenzied mind and too few friends
You lie that you like it that way
Will you ever be good enough for yourself
Instead of tied up trying to please everyone else
Chipping away at your chance your heart and your health
You dream it will be different someday
The day is here the time is now
You’ve got to find a little light
through the fog somehow
Pick your battles choose your spot
You’ve only got one life to live
Give it all you’ve got
When you’re feeling mean and in-between
Last year’s model and an empty bottle
Starting over don’t come with a guarantee
But sitting still when you know that it’s over
Is sad when you’re just one step closer
To settling for something less than your life could be (don’t settle!)
The day is here the time is now
You’ve got to find a little light
Through the fog somehow
Pick your battles choose your spot
You’ve only got one life to live
Give it all you’ve got
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9. |
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I painted your name on an underpass
And prayed that the love I found would last
But the dust kicked up from the years that blew past
Obscured that gesture now
When I’m passing through sometimes
I can just about make out the lines
Of a love that was once worth the crime
I let slip away somehow
These graffiti that outlived our love in every way
Frozen in time unknowing eyes admiring
The lie on display
I carved your initials on an old wood rail
At the lookout point on the top of the trail
The knife worked well but the love it would fail
And these cuts are all that remain
And when I’m walking by sometimes
I run a finger through the groove and remember why
A young love bound to lose would try
To prove it wouldn’t wash away with the rain
These graffiti that outlived our love in every way
Frozen in time unknowing eyes admiring
The lie on display
I’m sure somewhere “forever” rings true
These carved hearts belong to a spark that grew
Bread crumbs on a trail that leads to a love that lives
But for the failed we hope time will forgive
These graffiti that outlived our love in every way
Frozen in time unknowing eyes admiring
The lie on display
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10. |
Hold The Wild Wind Out
02:09
|
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Seven dark clouds just rolled in
About to steal the sun
A breath of daylight all that’s left
And the longing has begun
It’s the highway calling me
It just won’t let me sleep
Restless spirits on the wind
Singing their sad song to me
It sounds like a tired daydream
Dancing in the rain
Two steps from a trip on the track
And the kiss of a coming train
You’ve been headed down
So long now
How will you ever rise?
I have my doubts
Your torn coat will hold the wild wind out
Blowing all the blessing from your eyes
I’m so tired of you trying so hard
To act like you never try
The grey moon bouncing off the silver spoon
That lights the path of a life of a life passed by
I found my way through your hollow eyes
And I found a place to rest
In the trenches of the night where “I got it right”
It’s where I loved you the best
You’ve been headed down
So long now
How will you ever rise?
I have my doubts
Your torn coat will hold the wild wind out
Blowing all the blessing from your eyes
All arms no heart
All arms no heart
All arms no heart
And all your charms are buried in yesterday’s backyard
You’ve been headed down
So long now
How will you ever rise?
I have my doubts
Your torn coat will hold the wild wind out
Blowing all the blessing from your eyes
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11. |
Good Friend
04:11
|
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You were a good friend to me
At a time when I could have been better
You were aching to believe in all I could be
When I was up to my teeth in the weather
And wherever you are tonight
Know I couldn’t have made it through
Were it not for you holding the door
Open just to let in the truth
People slide in an out of your life
And I know I’ve been falling behind
The days and months and mountains of time
That untether the ties that bind
You were a good friend to me
At a time I was going so wrong
I cold dial you up and tune in to a light
That shone through an ominous song
And along the way I failed
To thank you for who I became
You threw a line unplanned to a drowning man
Who could only dream of doing the same
I was angry and I was sad
And there were times I didn’t give all I had
I know frankly I fell for the ad
There were good rhymes I lived that went bad
You were a good friend to me
At a time I barely held it together
You talked me to shore after I tossed the oars
Hellbent on drifting forever
Now a clever clown crying in a car
Dreaming about all the words I could use
On once lent ears long disappeared
To let you know I’ve been thinking of you
People slide in an out of your life
And I know I’ve been falling behind
The days and months and mountains of time
That untether the ties that bind
You were a good friend to me
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12. |
Will You Still? (I Will)
02:00
|
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Will you still be in love?
When the house lights come up
On every sticky step you’ll have to take
Holding your empty cup
Will you still feel the same?
In the harsh light of the last home bound train
When the filters fall away
On wilted flowers and a broken chain
I will stand
Through the storm
Born of our best laid plans
With my one demand
If you take me at all take me as I am
Will you still want to stay?
When parts of the old paint have peeled away
To reveal what we couldn’t hide
No matter what we tried to say
Will you still pursue?
That which surrendered to you
Now that the walls have been scaled
And unveiled a different view
I will stand
Through the storm
Born of our best laid plans
With my one demand
If you take me at all take me as I am
Will You Still? (I will)
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