West Texas Highway
1. |
||||
|
A pencil and paper and a cold cup of coffee
in a little Texas café
lines on the page lost in the distance
memories of yesterday
waitress looking for a ticket to freedom
she’s got a “come on” look in her eye
a road never traveled is a chance never taken
opportunity passing you by
Down a west Texas highway, your life in a song
and you make it all up as you go along
You write down the stories of people around you
the songs that you see in their eyes
you're livin' a two lane blacktop existence
it’s a poor man’s version of paradise
But it’s paradise lost, with liberties taken
and a price that you’ll have to pay
a road musician’s life forsaken
for the chance to spend one more day
On a west Texas highway, your dreams by your side
and the songs that you write along for the ride
and you cast your lot with the traveling kind
searching for something you’ll never find , you’ll never find
It’s all about trying to get where you’re going
and places you don’t want to go
so you find yourself following lines down the highway
out where the bluebonnets grow
On a west Texas highway, with the wind in your hair
and the call of the backroads keeping you there
On a west Texas highway, that’s where you belong
where you can hear the coyote singing your song
he’s singing your song
|
||||
2. |
||||
|
A lonesome town with a lonesome feeling
full of lonesome souls in a lonesome town
got no floor, got no ceiling
just the crumbling walls of a lonesome town
This city street goes in one direction
but it ain’t the way you want to go
so you stop and stare, at the intersection
of the things you want and the things you know
And you see someone, you want to make connection
in the passing storm you never catch their eye
so you stumble off in the wrong direction
and you’ve got no friends, you wonder why
The wind blows cold, and the rain comes down
try to find a friend in a lonesome town.
This life you have isn’t what you wanted
like lady luck in a long black gown
the sidewalk’s cold, and the streets are haunted
by the ghosts who live in a lonesome town
And if you could, would you take your freedom
and leave the loneliness behind
and the memories, would you still need ‘em
if you could change your life, would you change your mind
The queen of hearts has given up her crown
and the life she lived in a lonesome town
the queen of hearts has given up her crown
and the life she lived in a lonesome town
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
Last night I dreamed I was up on a cross
right beside Jesus of Galilee
hanging around like an albatross
out on a limb for the world to see
I turned and asked the Bohemian
“Are you here because of your Christianity?”
he said, “I’m not a Christian, I’ve never been one
I’m only a part of humanity”
He said, I’m bound for other places
gonna break the ties that bind
but I’ll take the things that I know I will need
and leave the rest behind
leave the rest behind
I saw people from everywhere gathered below
one congregation down there on the ground
mysteries forgotten a long time ago
stars in the heavens, spinning around
I saw two silhouettes in the dark of the night
with fire in their eyes and blood on their sleeves
one on his left, and one on his right
I watched as he turned and spoke to the thieves
You can let your love escape you
you can let yourself be blind
or you can take the things that will heal your heart
and leave the rest behind
leave the rest behind
There were Baptists and Buddhists and Mormans and Lutherans
Quakers and Catholics and Hindus and Anglicans
Muslims and Jews and Native Americans
Wiccans and Pagans and New Age Aquarians
He said, I’m going to tell a story
when I’m through I hope you’ll find
you can take the things that surround you with love
and leave the rest behind
take the things that surround you with love
and leave the rest behind
leave the rest behind, son
leave the rest behind
|
||||
4. |
Better Luck Next Time
03:09
|
|||
|
We had a fight
(He tried to sneak in at a quarter to four)
Late one night
(And she was waiting when he opened the door)
I heard her shout
(She saw the lipstick and smelled the perfume)
She threw me out
(She grabbed a knife and chased him out of the room)
I ended up on the lawn, with just the clothes I had on
Better luck next time
I had no dough
(He was desperate, and up to no good)
No place to go
(And he would do the only thing that he could)
I planned a job
(He stood in line and read the words that he wrote)
A bank to rob
(He pulled a gun and gave the teller the note)
I grabbed the cash and turned around, a policeman knocked me down
Better luck next time better luck….
(He dropped the gun)
They tied my hands and they sealed my fate
(He couldn’t run)
Collecting interest at their usual rate
(Nowhere to go)
Next thing I knew I was down on my knees,
Singing, “please don’t shoot me, please
Please don’t shoot me…please
I copped a plea
(He said a woman put him up to it all)
Judge looked at me
(He stood and waited for the gavel to fall)
Took me away
(They gave him ninety-nine years in the pen)
I’m here to stay
(And he ain’t ever gonna get out again)
I always knew that she would be the death of me
Better luck next time
|
||||
5. |
Julia's Song
03:48
|
|||
|
Memories are all I have of you
a faded picture on the wall
helplessly I look for things to do
I can turn the other way, and I can close my eyes
and I can see you just the way you were
and I can hold you close to me, if only in my dreams
and I can make believe that you’re still here
And the earth will turn, and the moon will rise
and the tears will come to fill my eyes
and the earth will turn, and the moon will shine
and the night will break this heart of mine
Lonely nights filled with troubled dreams
Time paints pictures in your heart
You know the past, it isn’t what it seems
I was always there for you and I will always be
all I ever wanted was your smile
remembering how you’d take my hand, hanging onto me
now I’m holding on for just a little while
And the earth will turn, and the moon will rise
and the tears will come to fill my eyes
and the earth will turn, and the moon will shine
and the night will break this heart of mine
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
He’s a simple engineer, does the things he should
he lives inside a barrel made of wood
he designs the armaments for those who go to war
never questions what they use them for
On weekends he goes sailing in his boat out on the bay
back home inside his barrel he knows it’s a happy, happy day
Living in his barrel with the world outside his door
every day he helps to win the war
finishing his drawings, never counting up the cost
or knowing what is won and what is lost
News reports of fighting in a battle far away
but safe inside his barrel he can have a happy, happy day
Watching everybody on the outside, never ventures out into the rain
doesn’t want to think about who’s responsible
doesn’t see that he’s to blame
Just a simple man, doesn’t have a plan
just an ordinary man
never gets involved with puzzles to be solved
a very very ordinary man
Watching from his window he’s sees the little children play
but safe inside his barrel he knows it's a happy, happy day
safe inside his barrel he can have a happy, happy day
|
||||
7. |
Muley Brown
04:02
|
|||
|
Muley Brown rode saddle broncs like they were broke to ride
with one hand on the halter rope as he marked them up the side
he would laugh and cuss and call them names
while they fishtailed around
singing Muley, Muley Brown.
Muley drove a truck back in 1943
he was pulling a set of doubles with a beat up Diamond-T
but the cowboy’s life was calling him, he felt it deep inside
and Muley meant to ride
Muley, that horse can really fly, you almost touched the sky
feel him hit the ground
Muley, that horse is swappin’ ends, he just aint got no friends
try and ride him ‘til the whistle sounds
He rode the stock at Calgary and out in Pendleton
he fought a lot of saddle broncs and often times he won
then he took up riding bareback broncs and bulls for something new
all around cowboy, 1952
Then Muley started drinking hard, begun to lose his grip
all the other cowboys saw that he’d begun to slip
he took up slack to keep that horse’s head from goin’ down
and Muley hit the ground
Muley, that bronc’s got ways of knowin’ just which way you’re goin’
and he’ll lose you on a turn
Muley, there’s daylight on the saddle, it looks like you lost the battle
oh Muley, when will you ever learn
Now Muley Brown is hauling stock for the rodeo company
he’s pulling a set of doubles with a beat up GMC
he sold his old Association saddle for a song
Muley, what went wrong
Muley, them broncs’ got ways of knowin just which way you’re going’
and they’ll lose you on a turn
Muley, there’s daylight on the saddle, it looks like you lost the battle
singin’ Muley, when will you ever learn
Muley Brown rode saddle broncs like they was broke to ride
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
There’s a bridge across a river
on a road that travels far beyond the sea
where a lonely wooden soldier guards the gates of liberty
and chooses who will pass and who will stay.
a stranger walking on the road comes to test the keeper of the key
he carries pen and paper and writes within his manuscript
the questions he would ask along the way.
Good morning, says the stranger,
I’ve come from long ago and far away
and there’s something I must ask of you, a simple inquiry,
a puzzle whose solution isn’t known
continue, says the soldier, I’ll listen to the things you have to say,
but I’m just the keeper of the key, defender of the gate,
I’m just a man whose life is not his own
The stranger tells the soldier
pay attention to the question that I pose
he opens up the manuscript to the final page
and bids the soldier, Read the words you see
written on the last page of the book, in singlehanded prose
if you could ask one question, a riddle to be solved
pray tell, what would the question be
The soldier offers up his key and says, I won’t need this anymore
then he takes the strangers manuscript and turns to cross the bridge
down the road that travels far beyond the sea
and now his answers do not matter
and his judgements will not settle up the score.
for, to him, it is the question, and never its reply
that ever holds the key to liberty
And the autumn wind will dry the summer rains
and the soldier loses everything he gains
and the answer to the question that remains
is just another question, it’s just another question
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
He spends the night by the monitor light in a world he knows so well
a special place where a virtual race of cyber-warriors dwells
rushing in like heroin, a fix he can’t refuse
he hides it all behind a firewall, in a battle he can’t lose.
A midnight hacker with a password cracker, Unix is his friend
breaks the code down the internet road, the server lets him in
past the guard, he leaves his card for everyone to see
the gambling kind with a curious mind, he’s a lot like you and me
Fire over their head, put a shot in the air
let ‘em hear what you’ve said and see if they care
fire over their head, let ‘em know that you’re here
you know the things that you’ve said are the things that they fear
Media control takes its toll on the people who buy in
it all comes down to the killing ground of the paper and the pen
corporate greed becomes the seed for what we see and hear
the hacker tries to expose the lies beneath that thin veneer
Sniffers scratch the words they catch, the code comes rolling in
face to face in a digital race to see which one will win
security’s just a fantasy, there’s trouble on the line
ain’t no slice of paradise, if the world ain’t yours and mine
Fire over their head, let ‘em know that you’re here
you know the things that you’ve said are the things that they fear
fire over their head, you come and go like a ghost
you know the things you might do are the things they fear most
|
||||
10. |
Crack In The World
05:06
|
|||
|
There’s a crack in the world, and it passes beside me
I look over the edge, trying not to fall in
it’s a long way from here to the end of my journey
one step a a time, and so I begin
In the distance I see
a reflection of you, but it’s only me
There’s a crack in the world, and it’s getting wider.
it threatens to break my planet in two
in the dark before dawn it doesn’t make any difference
how hard I try to forget about you
Forever, it seems,
you’re on my mind, still in my dreams
I look for your face in the clouds up above
but I see only strangers there
you’re always alone when you’re not with the one you love
Somewhere there’s a place where the sun always shines
there’s a song of the sea, and a butterfly flaps its wings
this crack in the world makes me wish I could fly
so I will sail on the wind that the hurricane brings
I will sail on the wind that the hurricane brings
There’s a crack in the world
|
||||
11. |
Morning
04:00
|
|||
|
All by yourself at the end of the day
no one to talk to, but you talk anyway
the things that you’re feeling are the things that you say
that you can’t repeat in the morning
The pain of pretending through all of those years
trying to sail down a river of tears
you cry in the darkness where nobody hears
and try to hang on until morning
This road that you travel, it still seems so far
like a vision that takes you to some distant star
where the person you were is still the person you are
and your dreams can come true in the morning
So you pack your belongings, you make a new start
you find that the leaving’s the easiest part
but there’s no one to lean on, and it’s breaking your heart
when you’re all alone in the morning
This road that you travel, it still seems so far
it’s like a vision that takes you to some distant star
where the child inside you is still who you are
and your dreams all come true in the morning
The rivers you cross, the bridges you burn
the journeys you take, from which you won’t return
asking yourself, when will you ever learn
the answer’s revealed in the morning
|
||||
12. |
||||
|
I’m sittin’ on a wet log, feelin’ my pants sog
sittin’ and a-watchin’ all the people go by
huggin’ my bottle, trying to get myself high somehow
it’s all over now.
I’m just a muleskinner, drinkin’ my dinner.
listenin’ to the bottle callin’ my name
sittin’ and thinkin’ it just ain’t the same as it was
I guess that’s what fortune does.
Whiskey in the morning, should’ve been a warning
the pain is getting stronger and it hurts every day
it takes a little longer to take me away, from it all
and now my back’s to the wall
And now I’m sittin’ on this wet log, drinkin’ my eggnog
oh please, brother bottle, won’t you help me today
one minute you love me, then you jump in my way, oh how
I wish you’d just be my pal
oh how I wish you’d just be my pal
|
||||
John Egenes Dunedin, New Zealand
Download anything you see here for free (you can pay if you want, but you don't have to...) Author, multi-
instrumentalist and session musician for countless artists, producer, songwriter, all around likeable guy.
And you might want to read his book, Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
... more
John Egenes recommends:
Tyre Tracks & Broken Hearts
by Donna Dean
a terrific singer and songwriter, with some legendary pickers playing on this album. a must have.
go to albumIf you like John Egenes, you may also like:
Hell on Church Street
by punchbrothers
A re-envisioning of Tony Rice's classic album "Church Street Blues" from Brooklyn progressive bluegrass quartet Punch Brothers.
go to album
All The Good Times
by Starlings, TN
Members of punk act reassemble to make atmospheric and gutsy bluegrass songs about barbeque and whiskey.
go to album
Stunningly beautiful songs wrought with pedal steel and nylon-string guitar that cast mesmerizing melodic shapes.
go to album
Utterly gorgeous songs that combine traditional folk and bluegrass with the Jewish Sabbath liturgy to moving effect.
go to album
Terrific instrumental bluegrass and Americana from this L.A. musician that is as big as the desert sky.
go to album
